


A Bleak Sort of Peace

by pebblekit



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: AU for Prompto's past, Angst. So much Angst, Ardyn is Creepy Chancellor Bad Touch, Blackmail, But will not be crazy sad either, Character Study, Chocobros know something is up, F/M, Fill for the kink meme, I'm not kidding, Introspection, M/M, MT Headcanon, Mentioned Noctis/Lunafreya, Or exaggerating, Panic Attacks, Partial Canon Divergence, Past Child Abuse, Possible AU ending, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rape/Non-con Elements, Severe self-confidence issues, Slow Build, Spoilers abound. Everywhere, This is really disturbing, Threatening with a gun, au elements, but still follows main game storyline, headcanon and spoilers for Prompto's backstory, identity crisis, mental/emotional manipulation, might not be a happy ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-09-18 09:03:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 25,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9377795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pebblekit/pseuds/pebblekit
Summary: Prompto had always been afraid of Noctis and the others finding out about his past, especially after the fall of Insomnia. So he's tried everything he can to bury it as deeply as possible and never look back. He didn't account for anyone actually recognizing him. Especially someone like Ardyn. Now that his secret is being threatened, he'll do anything to keep the Chancellor happy, even if it kills him inside.





	1. Chapter 1: A Weak Shield of Unease

**Author's Note:**

> Pebblekit: Hello there, everyone. Thank you for looking into this story. Um...this is the first thing I've ever written for Final Fantasy and really the first thing that's so...graphic. It's actually in response to this prompt on the FFXV Kink Meme ==> http://ffxv-kinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/841.html?thread=148297
> 
> This one kind of struck a cord with me and wouldn't let me go until I wrote it. That said, this story is going to have some pretty…disturbing things in it. Aside from the current tags, I'll probably add more as we go. Warnings for rape, forced sex, mental manipulation both during sex and not, bondage, orgasm denial, and other such things, but since I haven't written them yet and am not sure if they'll actually make it into the story, they're not tagged at this point. I also feel that I should warn for possible canon inconsistency. I’ve never seen Brotherhood and only saw most of the game (I was watching my brother play it, so I missed some stuff). So some of this may not be accurate. I’m sorry if that bothers anyone. Constructive criticism would be appreciated. This first chapter is wordy and kind of…awkward? But it will be important later, I swear. We’ll get to Ardyn very soon!
> 
> Also...if anyone does review, please let me know what you think about how I write the characters. Especially Prompto and Noct. I'm trying to get across that they act differently around each other than with other people (such as Noctis getting talkative somewhat), but I'm worried I might have gone too far. Anything said will be put towards making my writing and the story better in the future!
> 
>  
> 
> Sorry for the long author’s note. But that’s it, so strap in and get ready.
> 
>  
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own Final Fantasy XV, the characters, or anything to do with the Final Fantasy fandom. This is just a fanfiction from which I make no money.

**A Bleak Sort of Peace**

**Chapter 1**

Prompto had a bad feeling. A really, really bad feeling, and he wasn’t really sure why. After all, their small group of four had run into several people during their travels already and befriended most of them, so he knew, logically, that there was no reason to fear anyone based solely on the fact that they were a stranger. But, something about the purple haired man they had run into at Galdin Quay just rubbed him the wrong way.

 

It wasn’t so much what the stranger said, or the oddly posh way he’d said it (with a fair bit of what might have been sarcasm leaking through) that made Prompto uncomfortable. If the blonde gunner had been asked what, exactly, it was that bothered him, he’d never be able to name any one thing in particular. If anything, it almost seemed like it was just the stranger’s overall presence. Before he’d realized it, Prompto had, for some reason, found himself putting Gladiolus between himself and the ‘man of no consequence’ even before they’d really started speaking. And it had stayed that way, with Prompto pivoting around and staying behind the bodyguard until the stranger had left.

 

If the gunner were honest with himself, that’s probably what bothered him the most. He had always been shy with a tendency to try and sink into the shadows or the background. But ever since he’d read Lady Lunafreya’s letter several years before, he’d done his very best to change that particular habit about himself. The feelings of insecurity never really went away, but over time, he’d learned how to put on a big smile and hide whatever discomfort he felt under it. Being with Noctis helped. The Prince may have actually been one of the only people worse than Prompto at communication, but for entirely different reasons. The gunner didn’t really mind talking enough for the both of them, but it was mostly empty banter around people they didn’t know very well.

 

That acquired skill had served him well both through school and on their journey so far. He’d managed to hold actual conversations with Cor, who was entirely out of his league in more ways than one. He’d spoken to Cindy about upgrading his camera without once dropping his ‘dorky-but-flirty guy’ façade). He’d even managed to hold his own with Cid, to a certain extent, though the grumpy old man hadn’t made it easy.

 

It was easier with Ignis and Gladiolus, who he knew well enough by now to be able to read at least some of their moods and guess at a few of their thoughts. And, of course, whenever he felt overwhelmed, Noctis would act as something as a balm to his exposed soul (so to speak. He still wasn’t entirely sure someone like him had one).

 

He’d even managed, for the most part, to keep himself together in front of King Regis.

 

So why had the purple-haired man put him so off balance? What about him had set off the little alarm in Prompto’s head that warned of impending danger?

 

When he’d thrown that coin at Noctis, Prompto had almost jumped in alarm. The sense of the strange man made him almost feel like he was facing down one of the many monsters their group had encountered on the way from Insomnia, and, from what he could tell, there was no reason for it.

 

It was a baseless fear.

 

Prompto _hated_ letting pointless emotions get the best of him. Especially those that made him feel like that frightened, embarrassed child that had run away from Noctis back in Elementary school. It was something from the early parts of his life that he’d never really managed to get over. He’d done everything in his power to banish that part of himself (or at least learn to hide it better). And, considering all that had happened, this was the worst time possible for it to start coming out again.

 

The entire encounter was truly off-putting, especially due to the fact that the man had recognized Noctis on sight. So the team decided to keep an eye out for him just in case he ever caused trouble, but that didn’t really soothe Prompto’s mind at all. And Noctis also seemed more on edge.

 

After accepting another quest in order to get more gil, the four of them decided to camp that night, deeming the inn at Galdin Quay to be a bit too expensive. What little money they had left from the hunts they’d done earlier in the trip needed to be saved. Prompto really didn’t mind it so much. He whined a bit over it, just for appearances, but camping was actually pretty fun, in his opinion. And it definitely wasn’t something he’d gotten to do much in the city, especially not with friends.

 

The closest he’d ever come to it was when he’d fled to Lucis, but he liked to completely shut that part of his memory out.

 

He wasn’t honestly sure if Ignis and Gladiolus took his childish antics seriously or not. He was far more Noctis’ friend than either of theirs and he probably never would have met them if not for the Prince. But Noctis himself surely knew that Prompto was, for the most part, joking about wanting a hotel room. The small smirk he had on his face whenever the subject came up was proof of that.

 

It was fun, in a way. Something they all expected from him. It had originally come up on that first night when he’d asked them if they could just sleep in the Regalia rather than set up the tent, to which Gladiolus had bopped him (not so) lightly over the head and asked how they were all going to fit and gotten no answer. Because…well, yeah, that was a good point. It was one thing for them all to sit in the car together. An entirely different thing for them all to lay around in it. So he’d felt his cheeks go red in embarrassment as he realized he was never going to live that particular moment of genius down.

 

Now that there was precedent, why shouldn’t he joke about it? It wouldn’t be the first time, and most certainly not the last, his mouth had moved faster than his brain. It had gained him quite the reputation of being a jokester, at least from Iggy and Gladdy. That…didn’t bother him. Not really. He _was_ something of an oblivious dimwit, even on his best of days. And there was already far too much darkness and grief involved in this quest – a little joviality might do them some good now and then. If he being a bit dumb at key points helped to keep the peace in their group, who was he to deny his three friends such? At least that part of him didn’t seem to bother anyone and they let him stick around. And, if he were being honest with himself, the less seriously they took him, at least in some instances, the less likely they were to get too close.

 

It was a careful balance he had to manage. Battle was different. In the field, he had to prove that he could hold his own and continue to do so as time went on. That way, he could act as carefree as he wanted outside of fighting. Such thinking served well in keeping both Ignis and Gladiolus at arms’ length.

 

Noctis was the exception. He always was.

 

They were best friends and shared (almost) everything. With the Prince, Prompto could be himself, and Noctis could be just a regular guy. They could laugh together, tease each other, fall asleep on the couch over a mutual text book (as had happened more times than either cared to count), and always feel comfortable around each other.

 

It was one of the things that made their friendship so important to Prompto.

 

And also so terrifying.

 

When he’d told himself that he would be Prince Noctis’ friend Prompto had never really allowed himself to imagine what such a goal would entail. Now that he had reached it, he would do anything to avoid losing it. His relationship with Noctis was special, somehow. It felt deep and unshakable. Something unlike anything Prompto had ever felt towards anyone.

 

At the thought, however, the gunner felt a small twinge go through his wrist. As it always did when he thought about this. He had promised Noctis that they could be truthful with each other. That they didn’t have to be Prince and subject. Just friends. And yet…that very relationship was built on a lie.  

 

Before he really realized what he was doing, Prompto found himself fiddling with the leather bracelet he always wore on his wrist. Quickly, he forced himself to stop, glancing around to make sure no one had noticed. Gladiolus had pulled out his book and was reading again while Ignis was trying, and failing, to coax Noctis into eating some vegetables. The Prince himself, however, was staring right back at his best friend.

 

Prompto blinked as he met the other’s gaze, unsure when he’d gained Noctis’ attention. He didn’t feel uncomfortable about it – he never did where his friend was concerned – but there was a still a bit of nervousness that rose in his stomach. Had Noctis noticed?

 

The Prince’s dark eyes bore into him and Prompto offered him a smile back, but he could tell by feel alone that it wasn’t as big as usual. Noctis just nodded a bit at him, making Iggy look over as well once he’d realized that his words were going completely unheard. “What’s on your mind, Prom?” Nocits asked, voice steady and quiet.

 

_Prom_. A small squeeze went through the gunner’s stomach, not unpleasant at all. He wasn’t sure when that particular nickname had come into being. Probably sometime around when he’d started using ‘Noct’. But it was something that only his best friend called him. Something between only them, as sacred and unbreakable as their friendship itself. It never failed to bring at least a small smile to his face.

 

Well, now that he’d been asked, there was no point in putting the conversation off. They’d talked a bit about it before, but it was bound to come up again. “I was just thinking about that creepy guy we ran into earlier. The one that threw that coin at you.”

 

If it had been anyone else, they probably would have wanted to know why he was still smiling, ever so slightly, while saying something like that. But Noctis understood him. Somehow. “Yeah, he was weird.”  

 

There was a grunt off to the side as Gladiolus turned a page in his book, straightening his legs in his slightly-too-short chair as he did so. “All I know is, if we run into him and he pulls that sort of thing again, I’m going to punch him straight in his smirking face.”

 

Ignis didn’t say anything, taking a small bite of his own meal and looking thoughtfully off into the distance, obviously working something out in his mind.

 

Prompto found the right side of his smile drawing up into more of a smirk. It was true that he was far closer to Noct than he was with the other two, but in the last few years, he liked to think that all four of them had become friends. Somehow, Gladio’s protective side and Iggy’s strategizing always gave him a sort of fond feeling. It wasn’t anywhere close to the intensity he felt with the bond between him and Noctis, but it was definitely more than anything he’d felt towards the other people in his life.

 

He could watch them just be themselves all day, and it would probably be enough to keep him happy. The old him would have been completely content with that. But ever since he’d decided to change himself, he’d tried to take a more active role in his life. “Well, at least he acted friendly, right?” he asked, keeping his tone as light as possible.

 

“Friendly my ass,” Gladiolus immediately quipped back, snapping his book shut and thumping it down on their table next to his empty plate. He was always the quickest eater out of them all. “That guy couldn’t have been more cryptic if he tried.”

 

“Indeed,” Ignis added in. “He knew precisely where we intended to go and how we intended to get there. We have not exactly been…discreet with our whereabouts, but nor have we been announcing our destination. He wasn’t anywhere close enough to overhear us, so he should not have been so well informed. And yet he was. It was disconcerting, to say the least.”

 

Well. At least someone agreed, even if it was for a different reason. Noctis looked about as interested as he was in the vegetables that he was still trying to get away with not eating. He attempted to push them off his plate discreetly to the dirt ground, but one fierce glance from Ignis was all it took to freeze the Prince in his tracks. Prompto had to resist the urge to laugh as Noct just sighed. “So long as he doesn’t cause trouble for us, I don’t really care what he does or how he acts. He was just annoying.”

 

“And creepy,” Prompto added, going back to his original point. Gladiolus gestured towards him.

 

“What Chocobutt said.”

 

Prompto opened his mouth to reply, but stopped at the last moment as he realized exactly what he’d just heard. “Um…Choco-what?”

 

Gladiolus looked at him with an odd expression somewhere between amusement and the face he made whenever he said something along the lines of ‘what are you, stupid?’ “Chocobutt. I’m talking about you.”

 

Prompto just stared and only realized he was probably making a very strange face when he heard Nocits snort. “That’s perfect,” the Prince said. Prompto shot him a look of disbelief and outright betrayal that was apparently effective enough for Noct to stutter slightly, but not stop him from laughing. “Oh c-come on, Prom. Because…you know,” he finished, gesturing at his hair.

 

“It’s not my fault!” Prompto said, sounding whinier than he really felt. Seeing Noct so flustered was making something in his stomach feel warm – something that happened quite often with his best friend, but he ignored it, instead playing up his childish disposition. “My hair does this naturally!”

 

“Does it,” Ignis stated more than asked as he took a drink of water. “I never would have guessed. Here I thought you spent hours messing with it in the morning when you could be doing more productive things.”

 

Prompto was about to comment on how the Advisor was totally being a hypocrite in those regards, considering his quasi-pompadour, but Noctis interrupted. “No, his hair really does stick up every which way like that,” the Prince said, still chuckling. “He just kind of…tames it…in the morning. You should see it right when he wakes up.”

 

Which they hardly ever did because Prompto was always either the first one up and out of the tent, or the last one up (aside from Noct, because that comparison would just be unfair) and sequestered deeply into his sleeping bag until Iggy and Gladio left. There were a few exceptions to that – such as when the Regalia broke down – but most of those were instances in which they hadn’t gotten a full night of sleep and Prompto’s hair hadn’t reached optimal insanity. Noctis was the only one present other than himself who had seen that special realm of Hell, what with all of the sleepover study-sessions they’d had when they were still in school.  

 

Then again, the Prince’s hair could easily be just as bad, so Prompto found himself more amused with his friend’s words than anything. Not that he’d show it. “You’re just jealous of my awesome chocobo powers,” he stated, only just managing to keep his deadpan expression as Noct choked on his water.

 

“So you admit your head looks like a chocobo butt,” Gladiolus stated, a lilt of laughter in his tone.

 

Prompto just shot him a look. “Everyone has faults. I just happen to embrace mine better than you do,” he said with as much seriousness as he could muster.

 

Gladio just rolled his eyes and shook his head while Ignis gave a long suffering sigh. But Prompto didn’t mind. He shot a glance over at Noct to see the Prince had his face in his palm with his shoulders shaking just slightly, chuckling silently to himself. Mission accomplished.

 

Noct either would never admit it or just hadn’t noticed himself, but the incident earlier with that strange purple-haired man had put the Prince all out of sorts. It seemed now that he was at least in better spirits. Prompto wasn’t one to assume things, but in this case, he had to wonder if maybe ‘the man of no consequence’ had had the same effect on Noctis as himself. But he didn’t think he should bring it up. Why ruin the good mood he’d just helped build?

 

So, instead, he gave a small smile to Noct, who was now peeking out at him from his parted fingers with a small grin of his own. Because his friend knew _exactly_ what Prompto had just done and why. That was just the relationship that they had.

 

The gunner shifted his attention back to his half eaten meal and took a bite of the quickly cooling meat. He’d been preoccupied in helping Gladiolus pitch the tent earlier while Ignis had been cooking and had forgotten to ask details about the actual food afterwards, so he wasn’t sure what it was. Just that it was gamey and had a strong taste that Ignis had cut with some spice or another. The result was delicious, but far richer than what Prompto was used to eating.

 

As such, it took about twice as long for him to finish it as it normally would have, but at least the focus of the conversation switched away from his hair and over to how they were going to handle the hunt they were currently on. He kept his smile on and commented in all of the right places that he’d learned from watching. But all the while, a rather odd thought festered in the back of his mind.

 

…Was his hair really that odd?

 

Noct’s wasn’t exactly neat and tidy looking either, and Gladiolus’s was a rat’s nest more often than not. But neither of them had stupid nicknames attributed to them because of those facts. Was that something reserved specifically for him? And if so, was it a sign of endearment or one of annoyance? Prompto had no idea, at least not where the Prince’s Shield was concerned. Or Ignis, for that matter.

 

At least Noct obviously found it funny in a purely hysterical sense and not an insulting one. That was something.

 

So Prompto chose to focus on that as they all started cleaning up and getting ready for bed and Gladiolus called him ‘Chocobutt’ once more. He liked the birds, of course. But he wasn’t really sure he wanted to be associated with them in such a way.

 

Noctis’s slight chuckles made it worth the feeling of discomfort, though. They always did.

 

So Prompto just laughed it off and lay down, cuddling as deeply as he could in his bedroll and tried to shut his brain off for the night. Somehow, along with the nickname, he found himself distracted by that odd purple-haired stranger’s eyes, haunting him in his sleep. Something…something about that man just didn’t sit right.

 

Something about his eyes, maybe? Or his overall demeanor? Prompto wasn’t sure. But thinking about it was effectively keeping him awake.

 

It must have been about an hour after they’d settled down. The gunner had been subtly turning every which way and that, listening as his three comrades’ breathing all evened out in their sleep. He tried, he really did, to reach the same state of peace, but it kept evading him, some unnamed fear soaking him in enough discomfort that he couldn’t drift off.

 

It was during one of his odd turns, in which he was simultaneously switching to his right side while trying to avoid elbowing Ignis in the face, when he felt a small press to his back. “Hey, you alright?” Prompto blinked as he recognized Noct’s whisper and realized that the Prince was probably poking the small of his back with his own hand. Most likely through both his own and Prom’s sleeping bags.

 

The gunner wasn’t sure how to respond for a moment, trying to figure out a way to order his words. Noct was…safe. He knew that, at his very core, he could never lose his friend just by saying something stupid. But he just somehow felt…off balance by all of this. He wasn’t _meant_ for something like this. He wasn’t a Prince, or a Shield, or even an Advisor. He was just the friend that had tagged along for the ride and was now in over his head. For the Six’s sakes, he was freaking out over being called by a nickname. How was someone as useless as him supposed to protect Noct?

 

He pushed those thoughts away to deal with later. Right now, his friend was waiting for an answer and he needed to give one. “Yeah. I’m just…thinking, I guess.”

 

Noct was silent for a moment. “You mean about that man?”

 

“Yeah,” he responded, because it was true enough. “He just…really makes me feel uneasy, for some reason. Something about him just feels wrong.”

 

“I know what you mean,” the words came almost immediately and Prompto was shocked to hear a slight shake in his best friend’s voice. “I’ve been taught my whole life to never judge people too quickly, or to let first impressions overtake my common sense. Even so, I can’t make myself stop not liking that guy. Though, most of the time, I like to think that out of everything I’ve been made to learn, those lessons stuck better than most.”

 

“Better than your abysmal diplomacy skills, you mean?” Prompto couldn’t stop himself from teasing. There was a light thump to the small of his back where Noct had apparently tried to punch him, but was hindered by the two sleeping bags enough for it feel more like an annoyed tap.

 

“Shut it,” the Prince almost hissed, but there was amusement in his tone. “But yes. Exactly.”

 

“Which is why you and I are friends,” the gunner continued, still in the same lightness as before. “Because you didn’t just see a worthless commoner when you looked at me.” Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say as it suddenly became very silent for a moment. Prompto blinked, expecting Noct to come back with some quip about how he should probably find a better friend (they always teased each other like that). But nothing was forthcoming. “Noctis?”

 

The Prince still didn’t speak for another ten seconds at least. “…I wish you would stop saying things like that.”

 

Prompto opened his mouth, but then realized he had no idea what to say. Nor could he read the new tone in Noct’s voice. It was a lowness he had heard before, but not very often. Most of the time, it was when the Prince mumbled about things in his sleep and was completely unaware of the world around him. The fact that it made an appearance now, especially considering what they were talking about, was a tad off-putting. Slowly, carefully, so that he didn’t bump into Ignis, the gunner struggled to flip back over until he was facing his best friend.

 

Noct was staring right back at him, eyes dark with something Prompto didn’t understand – which was rare between the two of them. “What do you mean?” the blonde asked.

 

“Well, you’re always talking about how you’re…worthless. Or not good enough to be my friend. It bugs me.”

 

Obviously, as some actual discomfort made itself known on Noctis’ face. Prompto struggled for a moment, trying to figure out what to say. “…It’s a joke, Noct.”

 

“Is it though?” and this really was eating his friend up if the slight hitch in his voice was real. Or the slight widening of his eyes. “Is it really? Or do you actually think that about yourself? Because I have trouble telling sometimes. And that scares me, because you and I tell each other everything and I like to think that I know you well enough to be able to understand the things you don’t actually say. I usually can. But this…this is the one thing I have trouble with.”

 

Prompto blinked a couple of more times, realizing distantly that his mouth had fallen open at some point. Noctis wasn’t one to talk about…feelings. It just wasn’t something he did. This night was getting more and more surreal. “We’ve talked about this before, Noct. I just…I’m really grateful and happy that we’re friends. That’s it.” And it was. To a certain extent.

 

There was a small turn in his stomach. He couldn’t help but think about the mark on his wrist. About the brand he carried on both his body and his heart. He lied about it every day. If Noctis knew about it…somehow, he wasn’t sure they’d be having this same conversation. There was a part of him that thought his friend might not care. He’d actually planned on telling him during this trip. But then, Insomnia fell at the hands of Prompto’s apparent homeland. Noct’s father and almost everyone else he knew and loved had been killed.

 

No, this was a secret that needed to be kept for the moment, no matter how much the Prince frowned at him or how much Promto’s heart felt like it was slowly being crushed in a fist, unhappy about keeping anything from the man in front of him.

 

“You shouldn’t have to be. I’m just a person. You’ve never treated me as an actual Prince. So why do you have to treat our relationship as one between a Prince and a commoner? Why do you even think of it that way?”

 

Oh. _Oh._ Is that what this was about?

 

“Noct…it’s not…I told you, right? About why I worked up the courage to talk to you?”

 

“About Lunafreya’s letter. Yeah, you did.”

 

“Right. Well, if she hadn’t sent that to me when she did…I’m not sure we would be friends right now. I’d still be alone. But you’d still be a Prince. If you compare us to each other, I feel like I get a lot more out of this friendship. And that’s fine!” he quickly added as Noctis opened his mouth to object. “I knew from the very beginning that we were from entirely different worlds. That I would never be able to find you something for your birthday that you probably didn’t already have. Or that I’d never be able to give you sound advice on the problems you face because - let’s be honest - while people like me are worried about homework, you were drafting dummy peace treaties. I understood that I would never be able to give you some of the things you might need. And that’s fine, that’s great. You never seemed to mind that I couldn’t. You understand. I can’t believe, honestly, how understanding you are in those regards. I try to be a good friend. The best that I can be. But…this isn’t always equal between us. The circumstances of our lives don’t allow it to be.”

 

Noctis just stared at him for a long moment before he finally responded. “Idiot.”

 

More pressure seized his stomach at the word, but Prompto just propped his elbow up on his pillow and his head on his palm in order to ignore it. “What?”

 

Noct copied his motions, his face pulling into a full-fledged frown that was almost a grimace. “I already have Advisors to help me with those dummy peace treaties. And I have more possessions than I know what to do with.” Neither of them mentioned that the present tense the Prince was using wasn’t exactly correct. “What I _didn’t_ have before I met you was a friend. One who was _only_ a friend and nothing else. And _that’s_ exactly what I wanted.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “ _You_ are exactly what I wanted.”

 

…How was anyone, especially someone as clueless as Prompto, supposed to respond to that?

 

“Noct-”

 

“No,” and the blonde fell silent almost as quickly as the Prince cut him off. “You’ve said your piece, now let me say mine. The closest people I ever had to friends were Lunafreya, Ignis, and Gladio. But what are they? The Oracle, who’s destined to guide the king of Lucis. My Advisor and caretaker. My Sword and Shield. Even if none of us actually got along, we’d still have to make do with each other. You, though…You’re different. If I didn’t want you in my life, you wouldn’t be here. And if you didn’t want me in yours, I wouldn’t be.”

 

Noctis shifted slightly, lying his arm down flat on his pillow and his head atop it. Then, slowly, his other hand left the safety and warmth of his bedroll and shot forward, landing on Prompto’s waist. Even through his own sleeping bag, the gunner could feel the warmth from his best friend’s touch, and he dropped his own head from his hand, letting the limb go limp and trying really hard not to otherwise react. He still had nothing to say. No way to answer.

 

Noct didn’t seem to mind his silence, however, and his touch became more of a grab with his hand curling around Prompto’s side and pulling him closer. Just slightly, but with enough force to close the distance between them by an inch or so. “I never wanted any of those things from you. I never needed them from you. From the moment you said ‘hello’ to me all those years ago, I wanted something else. Something you give me in spades every day and that I’m thankful for more than you can imagine.”

 

Talk. It was time to talk now. “I…Noctis, I get what you’re saying. Really, I do. But…I don’t…I’m really not that important.”

 

“Your birthday presents were always the best.”

 

“I just took you out to places, like the arcade. And you always paid for yourself for most of it.”

 

“But you went with me and let me be myself. No one else does that. They may let me go places, but they still expect me to be Prince Caelum over Noctis. And you do give me advice, even if you don’t realize it. Do you know how many times I’ve had to bring up the needs of common folk at our meetings in the Palace? Most of the Advisors and politicians there only think of the upper classes. Dad actually complimented me for being able to see the whole picture. That wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t worked the courage up – by yourself – to talk to me that day behind the gym. And, while Lunafreya may have given you an idea to try, you were the one that picked it up and ran with it. Literally.”

 

Prompto was sure he probably looked like a fish out of water, what with how much he kept opening his mouth just to close it again.

 

Noctis, again, didn’t seem to care and just scooted himself closer to Prompto – sleeping bag and all – as he again pulled the gunner closer to him. They were less than a few inches apart now and the Prince’s arm was wrapping around Prompto’s waist in a loose hug. With a sleeping bag between them, of course. If Prompto’s had been unzipped on that side like Noct’s was, they be almost stomach to stomach. “You are my best friend,” Noct said, his breath warm between them. “You’re not worthless, or a burden. You’re more than good enough. I respect your opinion just as much as Iggy’s and Gladio’s. I wanted you with me on this trip for many reasons, the most important being that I needed your strength to see all of this through. And that was before everything went to shit and got worse.”

 

“My…strength?” Prompto questioned, the words so quiet they were more of a breath. He tried really hard not to look down at Noct’s lips while he did so. That would be completely out of line and possibly destroy whatever…this was.

 

“Yes,” the Prince answered with a small smile. “The same strength I draw from every day. Luna is my friend, and I miss her a lot. But that doesn’t mean I was ready to marry, especially at such short notice. I…I wanted you to be here because you always make me feel better about myself. Your jokes and antics are just a bonus. It’s _you,_ Prom – your presence and your smile and your being – that I care about. That’s why I wanted to be your friend. You’re not just a pity case, or anything else stupid like that.”

 

“Noct,” Prompto wanted so badly to say something, but he just didn’t have the words. He’d never really been good at that anyway. So he just closed his eyes, bowed his head downward a bit, and sunk a little into the ground, letting the warmth of his friends arm and proximity hold him together. Just for this moment. “Thank you.”

 

“Dork. Of course.” That was accentuated by another tug. Their foreheads were brushing each other now. Noct took in a deep breath and was quiet for a moment. “Now, go to sleep already. We can talk about Sir Creepy Pants in the morning.”

 

Prompto couldn’t help the snort that came out at the name. It was something that he himself would normally say, not Noct. But when it was just the two of them, sometimes, every now and then, their roles became reversed. It was touching in a way. Comfortable. “Yeah, okay,” he answered, opening his eyes and peeking up at Noctis. “But only if you sleep too.”

 

“Deal,” his friend answered and visibly sagged into the ground. But he left his arm around Prompto, keeping them close.

 

The stranger’s eyes still haunted Prompto in his sleep, as well as Gladio’s teasing voice. But somehow, they seemed more distant now. As though kept at bay by Noctis’s grip around him. It was in that embrace that Prompto finally found peace and nodded off.


	2. A Threat in the Guise of Kindness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 'Man of No Consequence' has joined the group on their journey to Titan. Prompto is left alone with him and sees a side to the newcomer they haven't encountered before. The fallout and aftermath are messier than ideal with no solution in sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! First of all, I am so sorry for the late update (especially after I said it was coming out earlier). To be honest, I had to leave town for the day and had internet trouble for several days after I got back. Then, when I did get it back, I re-read the chapter and...I rewrote part of it. Quite a bit of it, actually. I think it flows a bit better now, but...I should have let you all know. I really do apologize. 
> 
> As for the story, there is a tiny jump here and I think I should probably explain a couple of things. Ardyn has joined the group, but once you read, you'll probably notice that I've expanded the timeline of the story quite a bit. There are a few reasons for this. When my brother played, there was a point where he made the Chocobros go something like 23 days without sleep so he could farm experience and then stay at the x2 inn (before Altissia). We were joking about how Gladio was an absolute tank just pounding through it all and the others were probably all just sleep walking at that point. Anyway, it made us think about how the world was really big (if not...empty) and it was kind of weird that our group was able to travel so quickly to and fro without anyone stopping them. I mean, yes, they run into MTs now and again, but there's never much indication that the Empire is tracking their movements and trying to guess where they're going. Titan had one or two security checkpoints...and that was IT. There were troops that showed up at the very end, but they were too late to actually stop Noctis from making the pact. One could argue that that was all Ardyn's doing, but what exactly is the Emperor doing right then? (SPOILERS FOR THE GAME) Has he already become a Daemon? And if so, is Ardyn actually ruling the Empire at that point? We see them both in that one cutscene with Ravus and that other guy (I think he's the one that makes MTs...?), but that's it. The empire was ready for Leviathan, but if I were them and really didn't want Noctis to get there, I would have at least tried to leave sentries out in the ocean or something to warn the ones in the city. And none of that explains why Ramuh was left practically unprotected. 
> 
> So, I decided to try and change that just a bit. Noct's group travels as fast as they do in the game, but there are people from the Empire EVERYWHERE, so they sometimes have to weave around towns and such (which will all be talked about more in depth later). The reason they spend so much time here with Ardyn (several days as opposed to maybe a couple in the game) and there are more checkpoints further back is because the Empire is really trying to keep them as far away from Titan as possible. They have to move slower to avoid the attention of MTs (and any possible reinforcements nearby) too. Ardyn is absolutely essential to get through the checkpoints, which is the only reason he's with them. There is literally no other way. 
> 
> Bottom line: he's with them for longer and they can't get rid of him if they want to get to Titan. I hope that makes sense. And if I missed something in the game or what I put above doesn't make sense to you, let me know! None of my friends have played this game, so I'd love to hear your points of views!
> 
> A little note: I couldn't remember when the group learned Ardyn's name in the game, so I originally wrote this chapter with Prompto referring to him as 'Purple Hair'. But then, when I reread it, that sounded strange. Especially since I made the amount of time the spent with him so long. So I used his name in the end. I think I caught all of the changes, but if I missed one, please let me know. 
> 
> Now, that aside, On with the chapter! IMPORTANT: This chapter contains some of the things that are tagged, so fair warning.

**A Bleak Sort of Peace**

 

**Chapter 2**

 

Prompto and Noctis never spoke about that night in the days that followed, but some sort of odd understanding had been reached between the two of them. For the last couple of weeks ever since then, after Ignis and Gladiolus fell asleep, Noctis would somehow manage to scoot up right close to Prompto and get his arm around the blond. Every now and then, they’d be facing each other, but more often than not, the gunner’s back would end up curled against his Prince’s chest.

 

It was…uncomfortably like spooning, actually. At least, that was the thought that kept edging itself into Prompto’s mind before he forcibly shoved it right back out. Noct was…was his friend. A Prince. They were heading to his wedding with Lady Lunafreya. And then the two would live happily ever after taking down The Empire and having beautiful children and continuing the line of Lucis-

 

Prompto took a deep breath and released it once he realized that he had been polishing the exact same part of his gun for the last twenty seconds with increasing annoyance. He thought he’d left all of these thoughts behind back in high school, when he’d decided to carefully lock all of his feelings on the matter behind a steel door in his mind. But, apparently, all of his efforts could be undone by a few sleep-hugs and some kind words.

 

He almost wanted to ask Iggy to switch places with him in the sleeping arrangements, but he wasn’t that much of an idiot. Although it had never been outright said, he was well aware that Ignis and Gladiolus both slept on the outside while keeping Noctis and Prompto in the middle because it put them in the most protective positions. The Advisor would never be willing to switch that up.

 

And besides that…Prompto didn’t really want to. Noct had straight up told him that he had been brought on this trip to improve the Prince’s mood and give him strength. He’d be a pretty terrible friend if he randomly took away a source of what was obviously comfort just because he was walking the edge of having blasphemous thoughts.

 

He was an adult. He could handle this. Noctis was his friend and could never be anything more. He’d known that for years. If the Prince needed a hug and extra warmth in the night every now and then, so be it. Prompto would give it to him and be happy about it. And be very careful to keep his own sleeping bag between them.

 

After all, it did seem to be helping. It was yet another thing no one talked about, but ever since they’d heard about Insomnia falling over the radio, Noct had had a lot more trouble sleeping than usual. And even when he managed to find it, his rest seemed to be full of dark thoughts and nightmares that made him toss and turn more often than not. Many times a night, he would sit upright in his bedroll, gasping and panting in fear or despair. Not even hearing that Lady Lunafreya was alive after all seemed to have calmed this particular problem.

 

But ever since he’d started holding Prompto, the Prince’s sleep had become far more tranquil. That alone was enough for the gunner to stop considering putting an end to their odd arrangement. He wanted Noct to be able to rest peacefully, and if the cost was so low, why wouldn’t he indulge his friend? No, the real problem was him. He needed to keep things in perspective. Needed to keep certain thoughts deep down where they would never see the light of day.

 

Thoughts like those he had just been having.

 

His situation wasn’t helped any by the newest addition to their party. For some inexplicable reason, the ‘man of no consequence’, or Ardyn, had decided to join them. Apparently, they couldn’t make it to the Archeon without him (which had been proven as truth once they’d run into their first Imperial checkpoint). And, now that he was looking around, he became aware that out of all of his comrades, the newcomer seemed to be the only one around to have noticed his aggravation. Of course he was. Noctis was taking a nap inside the tent because of the headaches he’d started having as they got closer to Titan. Gladiolus and Ignis had left to go find fire wood. Prompto had been left alone with their guest as a watch.

 

Ardyn (and there was _something_ about that name that put Prompto even more on edge) was now staring at him with that really creepy smile. It wasn’t that it was bigger than normal, or that it was ever present. It was more that…Prompto wasn’t entirely sure, but he had the impression that the expression on the man’s face was…empty. Like there was nothing behind it, no emotion. The smile was there, but the happiness or amusement that would normally follow in a situation like this was absent.

 

Of course, he wasn’t entirely sure. He’d be the first to admit that he wasn’t a very good judge of emotions or people at the best of times. But there was just something so off-putting about the other man that he honestly had no idea how to deal with it.

 

“Is something troubling you?” Ardyn asked in that overly posh accent of his.

 

Prompto was tempted to glare for some reason, but he reigned himself in and pasted on one of his patent goofy grins instead. “Not really. I just was having some trouble getting a bit of old blood out of one of the grooves,” he answered, which wasn’t exactly a lie. He may send all of his weapons back to the negative space (or whatever it was) that Noct’s magic led to, but that didn’t automatically clean them of any gunk from battle that landed on them. He often would spend time each night making sure his guns were in good condition, if only so they wouldn’t jam or something equally stupid during a fight. The last thing he needed was to be even more useless in battle than he already was.

 

They’d settled in a bit earlier than normal that day with the sun still being fully up and not setting yet, but the area they were about to go through apparently had some worrying monsters and Ignis wanted to face them after a full night of sleep, so here they were. After helping pitch the tent again, the gunner had pulled out his guns for their regular maintenance and there really had been a particularly nasty stain on this one.  Prompto had defeated it about fifteen minutes before, but Ardyn, who was now coming closer and kneeling down on the ground in front of him, didn’t need to know that. “Is it gone now? That was some rather…rigorous…rubbing you did.”

 

Prompto paused in his movements, slowly looking up at the man that was less than three feet away now. There was something about the way those words came out that felt…wrong. Somehow. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why. “Yeah,” he finally answered. “I took care of it.”

 

The man’s smile became something more of a smirk. He stuck his hand out. “May I?”

 

Prompto hesitated. He hadn’t wanted Ardyn to come with them in the first place when they’d met paths again, and he’d made his opinion abundantly clear. But he’d been outvoted. The other three hadn’t exactly been thrilled about it either, but the prospect of getting to Titan at least twice as fast as they’d originally been planning had caught both Ignis’s and Noct’s attention. Gladiolus, of course, had deferred to the Prince’s wishes.

 

Both the Advisor and the Shield had seemed surprised when Prompto had outright stated that he disagreed and thought that they should find their own way, but Noct had understood. Had promised that they’d be careful and not trust him unless he gave them reason to. For that, at least, he was thankful. The two of them had talked about how they felt over the stranger a couple of times and, while Noct didn’t seem to like him very much, he also didn’t seem as creeped out as Prompto. He’d actually teased the blond about it a bit too.

 

Now, having Ardyn sitting right there was wreaking havoc on his nerves and Prompto still had no tangible idea why. It wasn’t like the man had actually done anything strange.

 

Prompto weighed his options. He’d already been told by Ignis to be on guard, but to also be at least respectful to their guest, if not kind. Gladiolus hadn’t really said anything, but the gunner imagined that if he pissed off Ardyn and chased him away or something, it wouldn’t turn out good. He already was enough of an outsider as it was. And…if this man was telling the truth and could get them to Titan, then the least Prompto could do for Noctis’s sake was foster a good comradery, right?

 

So, slowly, he bit down on the instinctual call inside of him to run screaming for the hills (or shoot this guy in the face with no warning, but the gunner very carefully ignored that line of thought) and instead flipped his gun so that the grip was facing Ardyn in something of a peace offering. 

 

“Much appreciated,” the man responded, immediately taking it in a firm grip. He spent a good long moment staring at it, turning it every which way as Prompto’s fingers twitched at their sudden emptiness. “You seem to take quite good care of it. I’m impressed. Though I thought guns were illegal in Insomnia.”

 

“We’re not in Insomnia,” Prompto tried not to tense as Ardyn’s finger slid a bit too close to the trigger for his taste.

 

“True. But that still makes me wonder how you learned to use them so well.”

 

Prompto tried really hard to keep his smile on his face. “Well…we’re allowed to hunt outside of the city. And I’m not too good with them, to be honest.” Which was true. He was always running after the others, always trying to catch up. And his shots sometimes went just slightly too wide or narrow, unlike Gladio’s sword swings that took out anything and everything nearby. Or Iggy’s daggers, which always made their mark. That was to say nothing of Noct and his awesome warping abilities.

 

Ardyn’s eyes suddenly met his, smirk growing wide on his mouth. There was the click of the safety being removed and, before he knew it, Prompto found himself staring down the barrel of his own gun. All of the nerves in his body seemed to go dead and limp. “You sell yourself too short. I’ve seen the four of you fight, and your skill is nothing to shrug at.”

 

The gunner really wanted to say something. Anything. But his attention was completely caught up in the fact that if this absolute stranger decided to pull the trigger on his own weapon, he’d be dead. Politeness be damned, he should have made an excuse and gone away to pee or something as soon as the strange man had started to come closer. Except, that would have left Noct alone in the tent, napping. He should have trusted his gut and not handed the gun over. That was decidedly one of the worst decisions he’d ever made. If not THE worst. He could reach up and try to grab it, he supposed, but he’d never be able to move fast enough to actually change the aim if Ardyn was serious. He started to moved his head slightly to the side, trying to put himself out of immediate range, but the gun just followed him, aim true.

 

Okay, then stalling was pretty much the only thing left he could do, as he really didn’t want to test the other man’s patience any more. Prompto struggled to get his tongue working, trying to figure out what to say. “You watched us? Fighting, I mean?”

 

He was so focused on his own mortality staring him straight in the face that he wasn’t sure what expression the stranger was making now, but he could hear a definite teasing tone in his voice. “Oh, here and there. Your little group hasn’t exactly been subtle in your movements, you know.”

 

That might be something to be worried about, actually, but Prompto really was trying to focus on the issue at hand. “Thanks for the warning. Can I have my gun back now, please?”

 

A laugh came that sent chills all the way down his spine. “Now, now, no need to be so hasty.”

 

“Um, actually, I’m pretty sure there is,” the gunner grit out before he could stop himself. There was the slight edge of panic in his voice now as he tried to draw backwards slightly only for Ardyn to follow.

 

Another bit of laughter. “Aren’t you going to thank me for the compliment I gave you?”

 

Prompto blinked and forced himself to look beyond the gun and to the man behind it. For the first time since they’d met, the man wasn’t grinning. His face was instead eerily blank and, despite hating it earlier, Prompto found himself fervently wishing for the empty smile to reemerge. “Compliment?” Oh, right. About him apparently selling himself short. “I…thank you…?” he could have winced at how much that sounded like a question from a frightened child.

 

And indeed, Ardyn seemed rather underwhelmed as well. “Is that the best you can do?” he asked. There was a small click and Prompto realized that the man had just flicked the trigger with his finger. Not enough to fire, but enough to grab the gunner’s attention.

 

Prompto was trying really hard not to panic, but his heart was beating a mile per minute and his limbs still felt dead. He swallowed, probably audibly, and tried to steel himself. He hated having to draw on his old training, but right now seemed like a good time to do so. He counted his pulse, falling into the rhythm of it and reigning himself in on its fast, but steady, pattern. Somehow, it helped to calm him, just as he’d been taught by those faceless scientists…

 

If gratefulness was what Ardyn wanted, Prompto would give it with all of the false cheer he could muster. Slowly, he sank into a state of forced calm, one so deep that it would cradle him through something even as insane as this. Once he’d taken enough deep breaths to regulate his heartbeat back to something normal, he opened his mouth –

 

And suddenly, a giant hand grabbed the gun and pushed it away. “What is going on here?!”

 

Prompto blinked, struggling to pull out of his self-induced daze. Gladio. Gladio had arrived. He’d come over and…and had probably saved Prompto’s life by forcing his own gun out of his face. Because Prompto had been stupid enough to hand it over in the first place. A thick feeling of shame rose in his stomach, dense enough that he almost became sick over it. He couldn’t even handle a simple conversation with a supposed ally on his own.

 

“My apologies,” Ardyn responded, immediately letting go of the weapon and putting his hands up in a show of surrender. Somehow, that just made Prompto feel worse. “I was asking your friend here how to aim and didn’t really think before I pointed it at him. I meant no disrespect or harm.”

 

That was quite possibly the stupidest excuse ever. Prompto was pretty sure even he could come up with something more believable. Gladio seemed to agree and just stood there, staring down at Ardyn, who stared back with that empty smile, still sitting with his hands up by his head. Silence reigned between the three, making it almost unbearable and the gunner suddenly felt the urge to chip in somehow. After all, one of the things he did best was break up awkward moments, right? He had been doing so since the very beginning. And since this was all the fault of his own idiocy, there was no need to change that now, right?

 

He forced a small, shy chuckle out of his throat, aware that it sounded far more forced than he intended it to. But he tried his best to make do with it. “Uh, yeah, Gladdy. I was teaching him sightlines and stuff. He’s…a real natural. He wasn’t actually going to shoot me.” Well, at least he managed to sound much more convincing during that last part.

 

Except Gladio didn’t buy it for a second. “Sure. That’s why the safety’s off, right?”

 

Prompto blinked. Yes, the safety was off. He’d heard it be removed right before Ardyn had shoved the gun in his face. But…he really wouldn’t have expected the Prince’s (King’s – Noctis was KING now, kind of) Shield to notice. “I…erm…”

 

 _Say something_ , his mind screamed at him. _Say something and fix this, now._

 

“Get inside the tent, Prom,” Gladio said, still staring straight at Ardyn, not sparing a glance at the blond. The gun in the Shield’s hand disappeared in a faint flash of blue.

 

Somehow, that order made him feel a bit numb. He was used to taking commands – had had that practice drilled into him before he’d even known how to talk. Reverting to his old training moments before probably hadn’t helped much. But he’d been working on breaking that particular remnant of his past ever since he’d arrived in Insomnia as a child. For the most part, he’d been successful. But every now and then, when someone used a certain tone or in certain situations, all of that conditioning rushed back to him. It was jarring, as well as the sudden need to set this right increasing in his mind.

 

If he’d been thinking straight, Prompto probably would have noticed that Gladiolus had just called him by the nickname that Noctis usually used, which had never happened before.

 

As it was though, he was struck with an urgency to see this through. He…he had made a mistake, yes. He’d been stupid. But…he wasn’t weak. Or something to be guarded. He could take care of himself. And Ignis and Gladiolus already had enough to do, watching over Noctis. The last thing they needed was another charge. Prompto may have been made part of the Crownsguard specifically so he could go on this trip (and Noct must have been a big part of that decision, because there is no way any King in their right mind would have done so otherwise), but he still took his oath seriously.

 

He really did intend to protect Noct with his life. Because what else did he have? He may be useless in battle, but he usually gave a hand in other places. He should be able to handle something like this. Yes, he’d been caught off guard, but he would learn from it and wouldn’t let it happen again.

 

But he knew Gladio. After this, if he didn’t speak up for himself now, there was no way the Shield would ever let it go or forget it.

 

So, even though he wanted to follow the order he’d been given without hesitation more than anything, Prompto gathered himself and shook his head. “I’m fine, Gladdy.”

 

“No, you’re not. Tent. Now.”

 

“I can take care of myself-”

 

Only then did the bodyguard finally look back at him, eyes blazing. “This is NOT up for discussion Prompto. Get your ass inside!” after that, Gladiolus looked over his shoulder, presumably at Ignis, as that’s who he spoke to next. “Iggy, drag him if you have to.”

 

Prompto felt dread rise inside him. The Advisor was here too? It was one thing for Gladiolus to see this, but somehow, he AND Ignis doing so felt about ten times worse. He wanted to say something, but before he could even open his mouth, he felt a firm grip on his upper arm. “Come along, Prompto. Don’t make me force you,” Ignis’s voice was as curt as it could possibly be and accentuated by a sharp tug in the direction of the tent.

 

A tent that Noctis was poking his head out of currently, now that Prompto managed to draw his eyes away from Ardyn. The Prince seemed to have just woken up from his nap, what with the bedhead he was currently sporting, but his eyes were wide as he took in the scene before him. “What’s going on?”

 

“Nothing,” Prompto answered immediately before anyone else could say anything. “Everything’s fine, Noct. Don’t worry about it.”

 

Of course he was worried. Of course he’d turn those wide eyes over on Prompto, who felt like his heart had just taken a direct punch. He’d just lied, after all. And Noctis knew it.

 

This entire situation was out of his control. It had been from the very beginning, before he’d even realized that there was a situation to be had. All he could do right now was damage control, and he knew for a fact that Gladiolus wasn’t going to let him do so out here.

 

So, finally, Prompto admitted defeat. He’d look even weaker in the eyes of both the Prince’s Shield and Advisor, but maybe he could salvage something with Noctis himself. He picked himself up, ignoring how all of his limbs felt about twice as heavy as they usually did, and made his way over to the tent.

 

Noct seemed rooted to the spot and unwilling to move from the entrance, so Prompto just brushed past him. It was warmer inside the tent and he could vaguely hear Ignis behind him asking Gladiolus if everything was under control, but he was too busy trying to get ahold of himself to really listen. Without paying attention to what he was doing, he fell to his knees in the short area and crawled over to his sleeping bag.

 

Noctis was suddenly at his side and it wasn’t until he had put a hand on Prompto’s shoulder and asked “hey, are you okay? What happened?” that the gunner realized he was taking in far too many breathes far too quickly. His fingers were still numb, but now also felt somewhat prickly and his vision wavered a bit before his eyes.

 

He was hyperventilating.

 

Something…something inside of him had snapped. He wasn’t sure if it was the actual encounter with Ardyn in general, the incident with the gun, the knowledge that he had messed up so horrifically, or having all of his team see his weakness. But something felt wrong that he couldn’t quite name.

 

There was warmth at the base of his neck and he registered that Noct had placed his other hand there. “You’re shaking,” the Prince stated, sounding truly worried now. “Ignis, what’s wrong with him?”

 

Ignis? Ignis was outside, wasn’t he?

 

Except, he apparently wasn’t anymore because he was now right in front of Prompto with an odd look on his face. His gloved hand felt almost hot as it pressed against the gunner’s cheek, his fingers reaching down to the pulse point at the base of his throat right after. Prompto tried to look the Advisor in the eye, he really did. But his vision wasn’t working right, growing dark around the edges. “He’s having a panic attack,” Ignis’s voice was distant even though he was sitting right there.

 

“What the hell happened out there?!” Noct seemed on the edge of hysteria.

 

It was okay. Prompto was okay. Everything was okay. If only he could just say so.

 

“I’m not entirely sure. Gladio and I went to gather some firewood and left Ardyn behind with Prompto to keep watch for monsters and Imperials.” Yes, Prompto remembered that. Ardyn had also put up his own tent during the time period. “We were just coming back and Gladio was about twenty feet ahead of me when he suddenly dropped his wood and took off running up the rest of the way to the haven. I couldn’t see past him and the tent from my angle, for we were coming around from behind. By the time I got there, he was between the two of them. He told me to get Prom inside.”

 

“I’m fine,” the blond finally managed to choke out, but it left him huffing for breath afterwards. Dully, he wondered why he couldn’t just calm himself down like he had a bit earlier when  he had regulated himself to his own heartbeat –

 

Oh. Well. That was an idea.

 

Except this time, it wasn’t working as well. His pulse seemed faster than it had been before, and when he tried to match his breath to it, he was still taking in far too much air. So he tried to breath for every two beats, but his head was just muggy enough that he had trouble focusing on his task. “Prom,” Noct said, softly. His fingers were running along the nape of the gunner’s neck gently. “Hey, calm down, buddy. Breathe with me.”

 

It was somehow easier to listen to the sound of Noctis inhaling and exhaling, so Prompto latched onto that and tried to match it. Faintly, he registered Ignis wiping the sweat off of his forehead and feeling his pulse again. “Keep doing that, Noct. It’s helping,” the adviser said, bringing his other hand around to the other side of Prompto’s neck. He was pretty much cupping the gunner’s jaw and lifting his head slightly, keeping the airway open as much as possible and most likely also checking his pupils.

 

Prompto would probably be embarrassed normally, but at the moment, he was just trying desperately to regain full consciousness. It took a few moments, but he focused on Noct’s breaths and Iggy’s instructions and forced himself to remain calm. Eventually, his vision returned to normal and his hearing regained full capacity. He suddenly became aware of how…wet he felt all down his neck and chest. He’d sweated quite a bit.

 

“I think he’s okay,” Noctis said, sounding far closer than he had before.

 

Prompto nodded jerkily, still not quite at one-hundred percent, but far better than he’d been a few minutes before. “I’m…I’m fine.”

 

“You most certainly are not. You’re pale as a ghost,” Ignis shot back, quite a bit of indignation in his tone.

 

“Iggy, don’t sound so angry. He’s already freaked out enough,” Noctis said, still rubbing Prompto’s nape. It was almost a hypnotic gesture. “Hey, Prom,” the Prince quieted a bit, leaning in towards his friend. “What happened? Did…did that guy do something to you?”

 

…What _had_ happened? He’d almost died. That was it. He’d been inches from death and had had no way or hope of stopping it.

 

Suddenly, it was like that gun barrel was right back in front of his face. Prompto tried to keep looking at Ignis, keep reminding himself what was really happening and where he really was. But he kept flashing back to the scene outside.

 

This…this wasn’t like the battles they had had against the monsters and demons that roamed in the wild and at night. This wasn’t even like the Magitech Soldiers they’d come across every now and again. In those situations, they’d had a fighting chance. Prompto could call on his guns and fight back. He could go down knowing he’d given it his best and tell Noct to run.

 

This, however…what was the point? Why had Ardyn done that? What had Prompto done to make it necessary? Or had it just been for fun?

 

Even if the gunner had summoned another weapon, there’s no way he’d have been able to shoot first, assuming the stranger had really meant to kill him. It had been a no-win situation. If Gladio hadn’t shown up when he did…

 

A sudden chill creeped over Prompto, made seemingly worse by the sweat still covering his frame. He wanted to answer, but he still couldn’t get words out.

 

“Prom? Prom. Look at me.” Another hand on his cheek, this time turning him to the side and towards –

 

_Noctis._

 

Noct was here. And safe.

 

Noct was safety.

 

Somehow, just seeing him grounded Prompto in a way Ignis couldn’t. The gunner licked his lips slightly, just now realizing how dry they felt as opposed to the rest of his body. “I’m fine,” he finally managed, much closer to his normal self than he had been at any point recently.

 

“The Hell you are!” All three of them jumped slightly and turned to Gladio, who’d just shouldered his way into the tent. “The kid was right,” he said, pointing at Prompto. “We should never have brought that guy with us.”

 

“What did he do?” Ignis demanded. His fingers were still on one side of Prompto’s neck, tracking his pulse.

 

“He pulled a gun on Prompto! Had it right in his face and was about to pull the trigger!”

 

“He what?!” Noct demanded, almost standing up. He probably was about to go stomp right outside to give Ardyn a piece of his mind, but stopped at the hand on his arm.

 

Prompto blinked, just now noticing that he had reached out to grab his friend. Quite tightly too. “Ah…sorry,” he said, forcing himself to let go finger by finger. Noct just looked at him, halfway to being up on his feet, and slowly settled back down on his haunches. “I just…um…” now that his hands were empty, he found himself fiddling with the hem of his shirt. “I’m fine now. I don’t think he was actually going to hurt me,” even though he totally wasn’t sure about that at all. “And…erm…he asked to see my gun and I gave it to him. It was really my fault, to be honest.”

 

“Cindy asked if she could look at my daggers last time we were in Hammerhead,” Ignis stated, coming around so that Prompto could look at him again. “I let her hold them and never once would have expected her to stab me with them.”

 

Prompto felt confusion rise in him. “But we know Cindy. I don’t know this guy. I was just trying to be…polite, I suppose. I should have known better.”

 

“Don’t go blaming yourself. That never does any good. What’s done is done. That creep shouldn’t have threatened you. Period.” Gladio sat down heavily, crossing his arms as he spoke.

 

“Did you send him away?” Noctis asked, voice stony.

 

“No. But I told him I’d be watching him closely.” That was probably why Gladiolus had positioned himself so that he could see outside the tent flap. “Figured I should talk to you guys first. Iggy, is there any way that we can get to Titan without him?”

 

The Advisor sighed. “He told me that there are more security checkpoints between here and there that we would have no way to get through without him.” That was probably true. They’d already come across a couple. Which only raised more questions about who the man really was. “If it was simply a matter of traveling to him, I’m sure we could find our own way. As it stands, however…”

 

“Guys, it’s okay,” Prompto said, sounding far more sure of himself than he actually felt. “I know now not to trust him. “ We’ll make it there in a few more days, right? All we have to do is watch him until then. I don’t…I don’t want us to be delayed on my account.” That much was true.

 

Perhaps too true as the other three were just staring at him. “Are you crazy?” Noct finally said, voice going up about half an octave, but staying at the same volume. “He just tried to kill you!”

 

“But we need Titan,” Prompto argued back, ignoring the discomfort he still felt at the very thought off staying anywhere near Ardyn  longer than was necessary. “I’ll just…keep away from him if I can help it.”

 

Silence reigned for a few moments as no one knew what to say. Prompto understood, in some distant part of his mind, that Noct was right. Traveling with someone they couldn’t trust was outright stupid. But they needed him. They may have taken him along in the first place because it was a faster way, but now that they knew about the security checks, the entire game had changed.

 

Finally, Gladiolus sighed. “Well, if he’s going to stick around, we need to lay down some ground rules. First of all, I think it goes without saying that we need someone to keep watch at night. Havens may protect us from monsters, daemons, and MTs, but humans are an entirely different thing.”

 

“Agreed,” Ignis nodded immediately as the Shield looked out the tent again to make sure Ardyn was still behaving. “No one rides in his car with him,” which none of them had done anyway, “and we make sure not to leave any weapons or supplies within his reach.”

 

Prompto couldn’t help but feel a bit of shame at that, but he didn’t say anything and instead just nodded, looking at the ground.

 

The rest of the day went by…strangely. There was a fishing spot nearby and Prompto went with Noctis to it, leaving Ignis and Gladiolus to watch the camp along with their guest. Ardyn had finished setting up his own small tent and hung out at the very edge of the Haven, almost always with one of those odd smiles on his face, but didn’t speak to any of them. He _did_ , however, direct a tiny, mocking wave to Prompto as the gunner left for the fishing hole.

 

Prompto glared back, stomping down on the initial reaction to just run off as fast as he could. Somehow, he felt that he shouldn’t show any more weakness to this man. He could have sworn he heard something like a low growl from Noctis as they walked by, but he couldn’t be sure.

 

It was eerily quiet between the two friends, even considering that they were fishing. Whatever conversation they got going in the next few hours would inevitably fade almost as soon as it began, giving way to their thoughts. Prompto wanted to fix all of this and he could tell Noct did too, but neither knew where to start. Jokes fell flat, there weren’t many things to reminisce about that didn’t also bring the feeling of sorrow, and the future was unsure enough that neither were very comfortable talking about it.

 

Eventually, they called it quits and headed back for the campsite, carrying Noct’s rather impressive catch with them. The sun was already going down, so Ignis had already no doubt started cooking something or another, but if they cast a few preservation spells on their new fish, it would last long enough to be used at some point.

 

Indeed, when they made it back to camp, something smelling amazing was already cooking happily away under Ignis’s watchful eye. Ardyn was off over by his own tent reading some sort of magazine while Gladio watched him over the top of his own book. Dinner that night was just as awkward as the fishing excursion had been. Ignis had made a share for their guest, but no one talked to him. Nor did they invite him to sit with them like they had in the nights previous.

 

Whether Ardyn was bothered by this was anyone’s guess as he just did one of his odd bow movements towards Iggy, said thank you for the food, and went to go sit with his legs dangling off the edge of the haven in front of his own space.

 

Conversation on their side was tense and not helped at all be the other three constantly glancing over to make sure their fifth party member had stayed where he was, Prompto kept trying not to let it bother him. Their concern was touching, really. It just…was stifling, almost. He didn’t want to put them in such an alert position during what used to be the only time of the day that they could actually rest.

 

They all went to bed earlier than usual, aside from Gladiolus, who claimed first watch. Prompto refused to turn one down himself and chose to take on the last shift that would head into dawn on Ignis’s insistence. The Advisor was adamant that, should Prompto need help, they’d all be far more likely to get moving quickly than if it was in the dead of night. “But…” Prompto tried to argue, knowing full well that that would leave Noctis with the third shift – his least favorite. “Guys, you’re all assuming that I’m the person he’s going to mess with, if he messes with anyone. But I’m worried about all of you. If he is an enemy, what if he’s just trying to trick us or something?”

 

 _That_ had gotten a response. “I suppose…” Ignis started, contemplative, “that the show he put on earlier could have been a red herring. Promto is correct. If he is from the Empire, it’s likely that his real target would be Noctis. He may be lulling us into putting our efforts into watching Prompto and hiding his true motives.”

 

“Or,” Noctis broke in, annoyed, “he could just be wanting to go after each of us in turn. Even if I’m his main objective, losing any one of us would make it a lot harder to hold out against all of the MTs and monsters we keep running into.”

 

“Either way, I don’t like this. We’ll all rest quite a bit easier once he’s gone. I say we get to Titan as quickly as possible and then try our best to never cross paths with this guy again,” Gladiolus sounded pissed, but was far quieter than he’d been earlier in the day.

 

Prompto could practically feel the simmering anger radiating off of the Shield. “That I agree with,” the gunner said. “Let’s just get through these next few days and then drop the guy as soon as possible.”

 

“What if he tries to stick around after the Trial?” Noctis asked, crossing his arms.

 

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Ignis responded. “In the end, we are the Crownsguard and have many friends throughout the area. If we order him away, it would be a very big mistake on his part to refuse. And at that point, we’d have reasonable prerogative to…get rid of him, for lack of a better term. Not that we don’t have that already.”

 

Noctis sighed, running a hand through his hair. “This is a mess. If there was a way around those security checkpoints…”

 

“We can’t take the chance that there isn’t,” Ignis argued, sounding almost more tired than Prompto had ever heard him. “As much as I wish we could split ways with him now, if we do so only to find out we need assistance down the line–”

 

“I get it, Iggy,” Noct responded. “We’ve already talked about this several times. It’s a shitty situation. I think we’re all in agreement.” He stopped and took a deep breath. “I’m not mad at you guys.”

 

“I think that’s how we all feel,” Gladiolus cut in. “We can talk this over and over again and still not come up with another solution. So let’s just get it over with as quickly as possible. Now, I’m going to take my watch,” he said, bringing the conversation to an end.

 

It took quite a bit longer than usual for everyone to find sleep. Ignis’s breath only evened out after at least half an hour and Prompto was still struggling just to keep his eyes closed. It had to have been about halfway into Gladio’s two-hour shift when Prompto heard movement behind him. It was familiar enough at this point that he didn’t even tense, expecting Noct’s arm to wrap around his waist at any moment.

 

His breath hitched, however, when he heard the zipper to his sleeping bag open and felt the cool night air brush along his slightly-sweaty back. “Uh…Noct?” he asked, not really sure what he was expecting in answer.

 

His friend’s chest was suddenly pressed against his back like usual, but this time, there was nothing between them. “Sorry,” the Prince whispered. “I got cold.” And with that, he pulled his own sleeping bag over and tugged the opening of it around that in Prompto’s. The result was something like bedroll that they shared, but their legs were still sequestered into their own individual ones.

 

It was somewhat chilly, but nowhere near bad enough to call for something like this. The weather had been pretty consistent for the last week, actually. Prompto opened his mouth, about to say something, but stopped himself as he registered that his best friend was trembling. It was very slight, but noticeable through their thin sleeping clothes. The Prince’s arm curled around his waist, but clutched him just slightly closer, slightly tighter, than ever before. “Noct, are you okay?” Prompto whispered back, grabbing his friend’s hand that had settled close to his stomach.

 

“Yeah. I just…I just…” Noctis took in a deep breath and let it out right on the back of Prompto’s neck. “I keep…I keep thinking of Insomnia. Of all the people in it and…I can’t lose you. I can’t.”

 

Prompto felt a lump form in his throat. “You haven’t. I’m right here,” he answered, threading their fingers together even though it was slightly awkward in their position. The Prince’s hands were sweaty and trembling even more than his body.

 

“But you almost…that guy…I was _right here_ , sleeping, and I would have been none the wiser. I wouldn’t have been able to stop him. I only woke up when I heard Gladio yelling and even then, even warping, I never would have gotten there in time if you’d needed me. I was useless.” His grip tightened just enough to be uncomfortable, but Prompto didn’t say anything about it. After all, this was what he himself felt like, right? Useless?

 

“Noct, I don’t blame you for not knowing what was going on. Really.”

 

“You never do for anything that’s my fault.”

 

What was that supposed to mean?

 

“There’s nothing you could have done,” Prompto responded.

 

“Exactly. And I don’t like thinking that. I don’t like feeling that way. Especially when it’s your life on the line.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “Or Iggy or Gladdy’s.”

 

“I understand, but Noct…” Prompto clutched at the fingers in his own slightly tighter and tried to think of the right words to say. He wasn’t sure if there were any. “We all came on this trip knowing the risks. We didn’t know about the invasion or anything like that, no, but we knew there’d probably be monsters and Daemons. We were prepared. That hasn’t changed. The threat may have, but we’re still ready and willing to help you through this. I took my oath seriously, even if I’m not a…normal Crownsguard-man. I would and will defend you with my life. Not because you’re the Prince, but because you’re my friend.”

 

There was a long silence, long enough that Prompto wondered if he’d said too much. But then he felt a squeeze and Noct pulled himself even closer. It was almost uncomfortably warm, but something about it was pleasant. Grounding, maybe.

 

“If there was anyone else who could do these things I have to do, I’d promise that I’d give my life for yours in an instant too. But…”

 

“You can’t,” Prompto interrupted. Just the thought of that left a bad taste in his mouth. “I wouldn’t want you to, anyway.” Did that make him a hypocrite? Probably. But he had a feeling that Noct felt the same way.

 

“I know,” he almost didn’t hear the response, but he definitely felt Noctis bury his face in the back of his neck, his breath warm. “I know that. I just…I need to know you’re still here. I mean, I see you. And I hear you. But I’m afraid that if I fall asleep, I’ll…”

 

He trailed off, but Prompto didn’t mind. He just nodded. “I understand,” he responded. “If this helps you sleep soundly, that’s fine.”

 

If at all possible, Noct drew him even closer, pulling his upper body practically out of his own sleeping bag and into Prompto’s. No more words were said and, within five minutes, the gunner could tell that his friend was falling into sleep. He knew this was probably a bad idea, considering his own feelings that he was trying so hard to keep buried. But…he had put all of them in a really bad pickle earlier that day, hadn’t he? This was the price to fix that.

 

But…it wasn’t really a bad thing. As close as they were, he realized that he could feel Noct’s heartbeat pumping against his back. Not much, but just enough. He wondered idly if this was normal for humans, or if he was just sensitive to that sort of thing because of his…unique biology. But at the moment, he was thankful for it. Somehow, knowing that Noct was right there, close and safe with Gladio guarding the outside of the tent, he was able to fall into a deep sleep within moments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it for chapter 2. I hope you guys liked it! After only one chapter, this is by far my most popular story...ever. So I hope you all like it enough to keep reading and that chapter 2 didn't put you off. This lays the groundwork of Ardyn's manipulation which will only get worse from here. 
> 
> The next chapter should be up soon! It's shorter than these two, but that's because chapter 4 is a freaking monster and chapter 3 is mostly build up. I'd like to give a special thank you to anyone who has read this through, a very special thank you to anyone that made a bookmark or left kudos, and a super-duper-awesome thank you to anyone who reviewed. Your thoughts and points are all taken seriously and will be used to make my writing better! Any points on characterization are also greatly appreciated.
> 
> NEXT TIME (spoilers): A very awkward dinner takes place while the group is about to embark on the final stretch to Titan. Once more, Ardyn shows that he is not trustworthy where Prompto is concerned. At all.


	3. A Story for a Sword

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the Shadow of Titan, four friends and one stranger tell stories to find solace only for it to work too well. Once again, Prompto finds himself in the position of having to play peacekeeper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I'm sorry for once again giving you a late update. I had trouble getting this one finished, lost power for a couple of days, got sick for a week, re-wrote part of it a couple of times, and am still not entirely happy with it. But it needs to get out there. So here it is. I don't think it's quite up to par with the last two, but it's okay. 
> 
> This chapter is actually based on this ==> http://ardyn--izunia.tumblr.com/post/154799799983/ardyn-creeping-out-prompto. If you camp with Ardyn in your party, he tries to grab Prompto's face. Seriously. And the other Chocobros don't seem to do anything about it. Now, in my chapter, they're obviously not in a town and instead at a haven, but I'm guessing it's probably the same wherever you are (I don't actually know, though - my brother didn't camp with Ardyn in the party. He was grinding for experience at that point in the game). Anyway, I used that idea as the setting for this chapter as the end of the introduction of sorts to the setup of the story. That's right, folks. After this, things get real and Ardyn stops messing around. Chapter four, which is almost complete and should be out far quicker, is when stuff gets real and starts happening far faster. So hold onto your fedoras, because we're in for a ride.

**A Bleak Sort of Peace**

**Chapter 3**

Everything went fine for the next few days and, though Noct still pulled them both really close together at night (always after Ignis and Gladiolus fell asleep even though the other two had to have seen them locked together at some point in the morning), the Prince seemed less tense the longer things went on with no further incidents. Ardyn would still talk to them on a rather regular basis, but didn’t pull anymore tricks.

 

At least, he didn’t until the last night they would all spend together at the same campsite. Titan’s lair was very close by, easily within a couple of hours’ walking distance. They would have kept on going straight there, but it had started getting dark and none of them were comfortable with the idea of facing the Archaeon at night. So they found a haven practically sitting in the shadow of the meteor that, according to legend, was held up by the very god they were about to try and talk to and made camp.  

 

Prompto was helping Ignis with plating, his mouth watering at the smell of the fish Noct had caught a few days earlier. Ardyn stood nearby. He’d offered, once more, to help. But no one wanted him anywhere near the food or anything else. So he’d mostly been doing nothing but setting up his own space ever since the gun incident.

 

Prompto still felt a huge twinge of unease anytime he was near the man, but he managed to keep it in check and did his best to not allow it to interfere with the relationship between him and his friends. Though that was difficult. Noct, for the most part, had been rather unchanged outside of his sleeping hugs, but Ignis and Gladio had been keeping a really close eye on their team’s gunner and Prince ever since the incident. It was a bit unnerving at times, especially whenever one of them followed along during restroom breaks.

 

But Prompto didn’t say anything. If he brought attention to it, everyone would just get into another argument and everything would probably get worse. If he simply kept moving forward and proved to all of them that he could handle himself now, maybe they’d eventually back off. At least they were still letting him take a watch shift every night (even if they always made sure to say that he and Noct didn’t have to), so he didn’t always feel like complete dead weight.

 

The food was amazing as usual. Iggy really did have a great gift and passion for bringing out natural flavors of things and accentuating them with certain spices. Even Ardyn complimented him that night, taking a second helping when they made sure there would be enough for everyone. The mood became a bit lighter than it had been, probably due to them being so close to their objective. Prompto was definitely excited to be a part of this, and not only because it meant that they would be parting ways from Ardyn soon. This was the beginning of their fight back on the Empire.

 

Once Noct passed the trial (not ‘if’, never ‘if’), they would have the power necessary to start moving further and taking an active part in the war.

 

It wasn’t what any of them had actually signed on for, but Prompto had meant everything he’d said to his best friend a few nights before. They were here now and Noctis needed them. They’d had everything they cared about taken from them – after all, both Ignis and Gladiolus had lost their fathers at the very least in the invasion as well. If ever they were going to make a stand, it needed to be now, when the Empire was still trying to catch up with them and Lady Lunafreya was out of their grasp as well.

 

This was just the first big step.

 

Spirits were high and, while no one drank any alcohol (they hadn’t since Ardyn had joined them and had outright banned it in the group after the gun incident), they all were laughing and acting far more joyous than they had in a while.

 

Even after the food was gone and the sky had grown dark, leaving the fire as their only source of light, the mood continued to get better and better. For the first time in days, Prompto allowed himself to relax and just talk. Tension he hadn’t been consciously aware of holding bled out of his shoulders. Even Noct, who was obviously nervous about the next day, had allowed a small smile to appear on his face as he listened to Gladio tell a rather entertaining story about himself and Iris as children that the Prince and Ignis had undoubtedly heard dozens of times throughout the years.

 

“So I agreed to go to this flower field with her because she’d begged me for days straight. I mean _days_ without letting up. She even tried to talk dad into ordering me. I finally gave up and went with her on my day off from training, fully expecting her to have me learn how to chain flower crowns or something stupid and girly like that. Then, we get there, and she turns to me with this stony expression and literally demands me to teach her how to fight.”

 

Prompto couldn’t stop the grin from splitting his face. It wasn’t surprising to him, after meeting Iris in current day and realizing that she was nothing like a little girl to be protected. Ardyn, however, who knew nothing about the Shield’s little sister, seemed to be wildly amused by the tale, his eyebrows canted down in curiosity and his mouth in a bigger smile than they’d seen before. “She must be quite the little lady,” he said, teasingly. The tone made something inside of Promto tighten, but he wasn’t sure why. There didn’t seem to be any bad intentions. But then again…they still had no idea what had made the gun incident happen in the first place.

 

Suddenly, it didn’t seem like such a good idea to be sharing personal stories.

 

Before he could say anything, however, Gladiolus continued. “You have no idea. I didn’t either, back then. I was still young and thought that, as big brother, I had to protect her. So I said ‘no way’. Then, before I knew what was happening, she leapt at me and punched me straight in the nose. Made it bleed and everything.”

 

“I think it’s still slightly crooked,” Noctis added in, leaning his head down on his hand while his elbow was propped up on the table.

 

“Ha ha ha,” Gladio responded with an annoyed tap to the Prince’s shoulder, which Noct just shrugged off.  “She literally knocked me off my feet because I was so surprised. So I’m sitting there in this flower field, staring up at Iris, who is literally standing over me and glaring down with all the wrath of Ifrit in her face. And then she picks up this basket she brought that I thought she’d put lunch in…and pulls out a couple of swords. Not practice swords, oh no. Real, steel, _dangerous_ swords. And she says once more that I’m going to teach her how to use them, but now she’s actively waving one in my face while she’s just swinging the other one around.”

 

“Quite a pickle,” Ardyn nodded, but he looked at Prompto as he said it.

 

And suddenly, the gunner wasn’t laughing. Not even the slightly nervous chuckle he could normally manage around their now-normal guest. The story itself was hilarious – thinking of big, bad Gladio brought to his knees (or butt) by tiny little Iris…but now, Prompto was thinking quite clearly of that gun right in his face from a few days before.

 

It was uncomfortably similar to what the Prince’s Shield was describing, but slightly more deadly.

 

And now, Ardyn was smirking at him.

 

No one else seemed to notice, so at first, Prompto thought he was just imagining it. But as the story went along, he was certain that he wasn’t mistaken. He wasn’t sure how the tale ended because he was so focused on the man (who was still a literal stranger) to the left of him, but when Ignis chuckled slightly and Ardyn laughed, he followed suit, not wanting to give away that he hadn’t been paying attention to the best part.

 

Ardyn was standing at one head of their table, leaning against a tree at the very edge of the haven, so he was actually looking at Gladiolus during the story for most of the time, but he was very clearly going out of the way to glance at Prompto every ten seconds or so. The gunner could feel the weight of his gaze every time it settled on him, so the blonde leaned over more towards the table, cocking his ear towards their guest. This way, he could keep an eye upwards towards the man through his hair, but it would be less obvious what he was doing.

 

Noct was across from him and had dropped his hand from the side of his head to sit up on his own, but he was starting to look a bit drowsy. Gladio was to Prompto’s other side (and the gunner really wished that they had traded places for the night so that the shield would have been between him and Ardyn like the first time they’d met the stranger, but it was too late for that now), and Ignis was standing and leaning gently against the side of the tent. They’d made it secure enough so that it would be able to hold against somebody doing so, but the Advisor was obviously supporting most of himself and using the tent only as a brace if only to not tempt fate. This put the entirety of the table between him and Ardyn.

 

Within moments, Prompto was very happy that he had changed position in order to pay closer attention to their guest. Ardyn’s hand was coming straight towards his face and, before he was aware of actually making a decision to do so, he pulled his head back so fast he almost up-ended his chair. The hand followed, Ardyn leaning forward a bit to reach him, but stopped just short of his chin.

 

Hyper aware, Prompto could feel the heat off of the other man’s fingers as they seemed to stroke the air right beneath his chin. Even thinking about if they had been on his actual skin made something far stronger than a shiver race down his spine. Almost immediately, Ardyn drew back, smiling all of the while, closing his eyes as he did so.

 

Prompto breathed a bit deeply for a second, debating what to do. Had…had that actually just happened? Or had he misread what could have been an entirely normal gesture? After all, Ardyn did seem to act and move differently from them. He had an accent too, so they weren’t entirely sure he was from Lucis. The gun incident probably couldn’t be misconstrued, but he wasn’t really sure about this. Could it have been just a cultural difference?

 

Iggy. Iggy would know, at least in theory. Prompto looked back over his shoulder, but to his displeasure, the Advisor’s eyes were closed behind his glasses, most likely in thought as he pondered over something in his head. And Gladio…Gladio probably hadn’t been able to tell exactly what had just happened from his angle right behind the gunner. He was looking towards Ardyn, but he seemed more confused than annoyed.

 

Unsure what to do or think, Prompt pivoted back around, intent on at least keeping the stranger in his sights, when he saw Noct out of the corner of his eye. The Prince had gone tense again and was casting his eyes back and forth between his best friend and Ardyn.

 

He’d seen and thought it odd too. Okay. That…that was relieving, in some way. Because Noct had political training about other areas and probably knew stuff about greetings and gestures, so if he didn’t recognize…whatever Ardyn had just done…well, on one hand, at least Prompto wasn’t entirely crazy or over-cautious. On the other hand, the last thing he wanted at the moment was an enraged Prince, so he smiled slightly and got ready to do damage control. It hadn’t been much after all – just a touch. An attempted one at that. And they were going to never see this guy again after Titan tomorrow. They’d had to go through another couple of security check points since the gun incident as well, so he couldn’t afford risking Noct chasing the man off only to need him again the next day –

 

But Ardyn himself solved the problem. “Well,” he began in his lilting voice, “that was a rather entertaining story, but I must say that I grow weary. I believe I’ll turn in for tonight. It’s been a pleasure traveling with all of you. I look forward to tomorrow while I feel sadness over the thought of splitting ways.”

 

“I don’t,” Noct bit out.

 

Unease rose in Prompto’s stomach once more. “What he means,” the gunner broke in, “is that we’re grateful to you for getting us this far. But we’re not really used to traveling with such a big group. You know…two tents, two cars, all that stuff. After tomorrow, it’ll be back to what we’re used to, you know? It’s got nothing to do with you personally.” Even if it totally did.

 

There was a pinch about halfway down his ribcage and Prompto had to force himself not to jump. It had to have been Gladiolus. The Shield was the only one close enough to reach him there. He had no idea what Gladio was trying to impart, but it didn’t seem to matter as Ardyn nodded and took a step away.

 

“I understand, of course. I myself am unused to traveling with party members. I dare say I will be somewhat relieved to be alone once more, though that by no means is a fault of you all.” And with that, he turned and started making his way back to his tent.

 

It wasn’t until he had entirely disappeared that Gladiolus finally spoke. “What was that about?” his fingers pinched just a bit harder and Prompto finally slapped his hand away.

 

“I was trying to not piss him off,” the gunner responded, keeping his tone light.

 

Ignis had rejoined them, it seemed, as he sat down next to Noctis. “Gladio, Prompto was only trying to help soften Noct’s words. Was there a specific reason you said such thing, your Highness?” There was an edge to the Advisor’s words, but he still somehow managed to make them sound respectful.

 

Noctis just looked at him and Gladiolus in disbelief. “Neither of you noticed that?”

 

“Noticed what?” Gladio asked. “Chocobutt spazzed a bit when our…guest…looked down at him, but that’s not unusual. I figured Ardyn was about to say something, but changed his mind.”

 

Oh, so that’s what it had looked like from behind. Well, Prompto couldn’t really blame the Shield for that, could he? Noctis apparently didn’t agree.

 

“He wasn’t trying to talk. He was going to grab Prom’s face! And then, who knows what?!”       

 

“He…” Ignis sounded troubled before turning to Prompto, concern all over his face. “Are you okay?”

 

“Of course,” the gunner answered as all gazes fell on him, feeling too hot all of a sudden. “He didn’t actually touch me.”

 

“Not for lack of trying, though,” if anything, Noct sounded even angrier than before. “That guy needs to stop creeping on you.”

 

Yeah, he did. But it wasn’t that big of a deal this time. And they all needed to be on their best game for Titan tomorrow. They didn’t have time for this now. “He’ll be gone after tomorrow.”

 

“Yeah, he will be. And then we’ll all be able to sleep easy again,” Gladiolus’s voice was gruffer than usual and Prompto could feel his eyes burning into the side of his face. “Until then, Prompto shouldn’t be alone. You’re off watch duty tonight.”

 

This again? Prompto understood. He really did. He was appreciative over his friends’ concern for sure. But he also didn’t want to be the source of anymore trouble. “Guys, we all need to sleep for tomorrow.”

 

For once, Iggy seemed to agree with him. “That is certainly true. If we take Prompto out of the rotation tonight, that gives the rest of us at least forty less minutes of sleep on top of the two hours we each lose on our own watch turns. That is something we cannot afford, especially Noct. None of us have any idea what we’ll be facing tomorrow and we all need to be at the top of our games.”

 

“Exactly what he said!” Prompto reinforced, giving a huge smile to the Advisor.

 

But Ignis just responded to him with a very pointed look. “That doesn’t mean I have to like this. Whatever his true intentions may be, it really does appear that our guest has a special interest in you. For what reason, I doubt any of us have any inkling. I don’t like throwing you straight into the wolf’s mouth.”

 

Prompto had no idea how to reply. “Guys…thanks, really. But it’s just one night more. And I’ll have my guns. I won’t hand them over again. Even if that guy has a weapon, I can at least defend myself.”

 

“And if something happens, we’ll all be there to back you up,” Noctis added dully. “That’s still not the point, Prom.”

 

“Then what is the point?” the gunner couldn’t stop himself from asking.

 

“What do you mean?” Gladio questioned, leaning heavily down on the table and looking over towards Titan’s lair. “If any of us were in possible danger like this, wouldn’t you do everything you could to help us out?”

 

“Well, yeah, of course.”

 

“And wouldn’t you be worried for our safety?” Ignis cut in.

 

“Yeah, so?”

 

“So, it’s the same thing, Prom,” Noct finished, eyes directly meeting the gunner’s and pinning him. It was a power move, and Prompto knew it. Noct didn’t often make and keep people’s attention like this and right now, his dark eyes were piercing. “And if you even start to say something like your usual about being the least important here, don’t even bother. I’ll punch you. Hard.”

 

And…Prompto shut his mouth, unsure when he’d opened it. Because that’s exactly what he was about to say.

 

“Wait, what? Chocobutt, you don’t seriously think that, right?” Gladio demanded, leaning forward to catch the side of Prompto’s gaze. It was unsettling, to say the least.

 

Not nearly as much so as Ignis looking at him over the top of his glasses, though. “I should hope not. I would think that, at this point, it’s obvious we all have an equally important role to play in this team. Yours being to keep the rest of us sane.”

 

Huh? “I…I know that,” he finally answered, because he did. He was the one that often broke the tension when things got overbearing, after all. He just hadn’t realized that the others apparently depended on him to do so. “It’s just…look, guys, Iggy was right. This is a serious issue, yes. But Titan is more important at the moment. I don’t understand why we’re making such a big deal about this when we should be focusing on that.”

 

“He tried to kill you,” Noct said quietly, so much so that Prompto couldn’t read the underlying emotion in his voice.”

 

“Maybe,” Prompto answered. “And, yeah, that scares me. It really does. I admit it. And he freaked me out a bit tonight too. But I can handle it. I made a mistake, yes, but I won’t make it again. You can trust me on that.”

 

Noctis’s eyes widened quite a bit at that. “Wait…is that what you think? That we don’t trust you?”

 

Prompto just looked back, confused. “Um…well…yeah? I don’t blame you. I mean, out of all of us here, I hardly know what I’m doing half the time. But I’m not completely useless.”

 

He saw the punch coming at him from an angle just in time to turn his chair to the side and get out of Gladiolus’s range. Missing his mark only seemed to annoy the man even more than he already seemed, though. “What are you talking about?! Since when are you ‘useless’ at all?!”

 

“Prompto,” Ignis was far calmer, but the way he was staring, assessing, made the gunner feel a bit smaller than he really was. “Yes, you are less experienced than the rest of us, but you have handled yourself exceptionally well. I think I speak for us all when I say that you’re an asset to this team and not a hindrance. Please don’t take our concern over this matter to mean the opposite. We are worried about you, but we would be worried about anyone else who drew this man’s attention, whether in our group or not.”

 

“Exactly. Dummy,” Noctis added as he crossed his arms and slumped back into his chair.

 

Prompto had no idea what to say.  A different weight settled on his shoulders. He’d wanted for so long to prove himself…but now, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to meet or even keep to their expectations. He wasn’t sure if this was any better or in fact worse than where he’d been before.

 

Noctis broke his thoughts as his eye twitched a bit. Prompto could feel his face automatically sink into a type of sympathy. “Do you have another headache?” he asked, dropping his voice level just in case.

 

Noct closed his eyes, but didn’t nod. That would probably make it worse. “Yes. I think I’m going to turn in early.

 

“Go ahead,” Prompto told him. “I’ll take care of your part in clean up.”

 

Noct opened one eye, but before he could do anything else, Ignis tapped him the shoulder. “Listen to Prompto. The three of us can handle all of this.”

 

The Prince, while never excited to do his chores, would usually at least make an annoyed expression if the rest of him tried to treat him any differently than they treated each other. So the fact that he just stood and walked off without another word (though he did give a long-suffering look to Prompto one last time) was a testament to how terrible he really must have felt. Remembering how Noctis had been reclining his head on his hand earlier during supper, the gunner wondered if maybe this headache had been building a while and tried to fight off the guilt that thought brought with it. He was sure, if that was the case, his…issue with Ardyn probably hadn’t made it any better.

 

Clean up went surprisingly quickly with hardly any words exchanged back and forth. Prompto kept wondering if maybe the other two felt similarly to him in just not knowing what to say. He’d been so sure that he was holding them back. Now, to be told differently, was just jarring. Maybe that was why he wasn’t finally able to speak until they all went into the tent to get ready for bed (or, in Gladio’s case, to grab a snack for watch).

 

“I’ll take the third shift this time,” Prompto said. The other two turned to him, but before either of them could say anything, he continued. “Noct hasn’t said anything, but I can tell that when he has that one, he has trouble getting back to sleep for the last two hours. And I know from school that breaking sleep into little bursts like that isn’t very good for you.” He remembered that lesson well and had often worried about his best friend’s penchant for odd sleeping schedules before. “We don’t know what to expect from Titan tomorrow, but Noct is going to have to face a Trial of some sort, right? I’d feel much better if he got a nice solid six hours and took last watch.”

 

At least they were listening. Gladiolus looked like he wanted to complain, seeing as they’d been puting Prompto on the last shift since the gun incident so they’d all be able to wake up more easily if Ardyn tried something. But he was apparently holding himself back. Ignis seemed thoughtful. “That is certainly a good point. We may be overreacting and Ardyn may do nothing tonight, but we know without a doubt that Titan will be a challenge tomorrow.”

 

Gladio finally sighed and shrugged at them as he turned to face outwards beyond the haven. “Whatever. I’m still worried about it, but if you guys think this is best, be my guest.”

 

Prompto nodded, not realizing until afterwards that the Shield wouldn’t be able to see him from his new position. “I’ll be fine, Gladdy. It’s just one night.”

 

It wasn’t until Ignis had already entered the tent and Prompto was about to follow that Gladiolus spoke again, so quietly that the gunner almost missed it. “Yeah, and that grab at your face after dinner was just one moment that Iggy and I happened to miss and Noct didn’t respond to in time. Only you did, and if he’d kept reaching towards you, you were completely blocked off from behind. There was nowhere for you to go.”

 

Prompto almost stopped, but managed not to, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling that rose in his stomach as the Shield’s words weighed on him. After all, they were true.

 

But…this was the last night. After this, Ardyn would leave and all would be well. All Prompto had to do was be super vigilant for two hours and then wake Noctis up. He could handle that. He’d have to.

 

The prince had taken his regular sleeping bag, second from the left. Right between Gladiolus and Prompto. Both the gunner and Ignis were quiet as they carefully moved around him and danced around his limbs. They hardly made any noise as they changed into their sleep clothes and settled into their own bedrolls.

 

Sleep didn’t find Prompto easily as he wrapped himself into the thick fabric, trying to get his racing thoughts to calm. There was that stupid lingering fear of Ardyn in his mind that had awoken when they’d all met him the first time. It had gotten worse after that night, if only just a little each night. But he did his best to fight it down, breathing calmly and evenly to try and lull himself into sleep.

 

It still took more than a little while, and he only managed it once he felt Noct’s now-familiar arm wrap around his waist once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you all liked it. Sorry if it wasn't as good as the last two. Again, I had a lot more trouble with this one, for some reason. I DID have a lot of fun writing about kiddie Iris and Gladdy, though. If you were wondering why none of them thought it was a bad idea to be telling those stories around Ardyn, just remember that, aside from Prompto, they're all pretty much public figures and probably are used to having little or no privacy in their lives. None of them would normally think twice about it, I don't think. 
> 
> Anyway, chapter four should be out very soon and is almost twice as long as this one, so please be on the look out! And please be aware that it is the chapter where the adult rating become effective! 
> 
> Thank you to everyone still reading this story! A special thank you to everyone who left kudos! A very special thank you to anyone who bookmarked it. A super-duper-special thank you to anyone who left a comment! You have no idea how much any of those help me!


	4. A Deal for some Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ardyn finally makes a move and Prompto realizes that he never really had a chance against the older man to begin with. His fate had been sealed since the moment they'd run into each other at Galdin Quay. All he could do now was try and keep Noct and the others from suffering with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I am so sorry for the slow update. I was in the middle of writing chapter five and changed something...which made me have to re-write part of this chapter as well. I wound up liking where it will take this story better (which is a bit further away from the game story line), but it took a bit longer than I would have liked. Then, in the middle of making that change, we had something of a family emergency that has done nothing but punch us all in the face repeatedly for the last month. It's been mostly dealt with now, but it pretty much put everything on hold for a good several weeks there aside from work and such. I am very sorry to all of you. The good news is that chapter five is almost complete because I wrote it side by side with this one in an attempt to make sure that all of the changes ran smoothly. So the wait shouldn't be as long. 
> 
> As for the actual chapter. WARNING and chapter SPOILERS! If any of you haven't read the tags, please do so! This is the chapter where some of them are put into effect! We don't reach full-on rape yet, but there is PLENTY of molestation. This will set the tone for the rest of the story as well. 
> 
> We also get some insight as to Prompto's backstory for this fic, which is AU from the game, so please be aware of that fact. I don't want to spoil the details, but it will be pretty clear I think and will be expanded upon as we go forward. As for Ardyn's abilities in this chapter...I have no idea. I took creative license because they're not very well explained in the game. 
> 
> Now, all of that aside...this is by far the most graphic thing I've ever really posted and I'm not really sure how it came out. So. Any constructive criticism/advice/etc would be highly appreciated and will go towards improving the rest of the story. Thanks to all of you for making it this far! And for those of you wondering if the storyline is going to keep moving this slowly, no. It will pick up after the next couple of chapters.

**A Bleak Sort of Peace**

**Chapter 4**

 

When Prompto woke later, it was to find that a cold sweat covered his body. His accelerated heartbeat made him realize that he had probably had a dream (or nightmare) that he couldn’t remember. But the wisps of it were still haunting, lurking at just the edge of his memory. With a deep sigh, the gunner reached up past his head and towards where he normally left his phone. After a moment of scrambling for it blindly in the dark, he found it and checked the time. It was about ten minutes until his watch shift was to start, so he yawned and rolled his shoulders, intent on getting up.

 

Only to find that something was pinning him down. Sleep addled as he was, his first instinct was to panic, but he managed to push it down and instead take stock of the situation.

 

Gladiolus was back in his sleeping bag while Ignis’s was empty. And Noctis….

 

Noctis was currently squashed inside the same bedroll and lying on Prompto’s chest, arms hugging around him and face pressed up against his neck. The gunner blinked in confusion, still not sure if he was entirely lucid or still dreaming. The prince had been rather…close to him at night since they’d met Ardyn, but he’d never actually left his own sleeping bag completely in favor of cuddling with his best friend. The closest he’d gotten was the night after the gun incident.

 

Heart pounding, Prompto tried to figure out what to do. He didn’t want to wake Noct up – that’s why he’d volunteered to switch shifts with the Prince in the first place. But he had to somehow disentangle himself from the others’ limbs and exit first his sleeping bag and then the tent. At any other point, he wasn’t really sure how he’d feel about this situation, but it was probably best if he didn’t dwell too hard on those thoughts and pushed them away for the time being. Especially with Gladiolus literally just a couple of feet away.  

 

Gently (and carefully), he grabbed Noct’s arm and slowly lifted it away from himself and tried to slide his body out from under his friend. Of course, the swordsman just grumbled in his sleep and shifted closer, reaching out unconsciously for his lost source of warmth and comfort. Prompto sputtered a bit, and tried to carefully lower Noctis to the ground while pulling himself out of the sleeping bag to wrap his prince up in it. In the back of his mind, he wondered vaguely if the mishap at dinner with Ardyn had caused this, just as the gun incident had, but he honestly wasn’t sure. And he was fairly certain that if he asked his friend about it, Noct would just shrug and not say something like ‘whatever’.

 

It took at least several minutes for him to escape his prison of cloth and limbs (because Noct’s legs had started wrapping around his own at the end as well), but he finally managed it, somehow securing the other young man in his sleeping bag. Noct squirmed around a bit, but finally settled down into the warmth that Prompto’s body had left behind with a sigh.

 

By the time the gunner actually made it out to the haven beyond the tent, it was just the right time for his shift to start. Ignis looked back at him with a nod. “Ah, Prompto. I was just about to come wake you.” He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he stood from the chair he was sitting in. “All seems quiet tonight. There are a few Daemons further out, but our guest hasn’t left his tent.”

 

“Thanks,” Prompto answered, taking the seat Ignis had just vacated as it was warmer than the others. His heart finally started slowing from the frantic pace it had picked up in the tent. “Get some rest, Iggy.”

 

“I will be sure to. Please be sure to wake Noct up on time. We need you to be at the top of your game tomorrow as well.”

 

“Will do,” the gunner leaned back in his chair and gave a mock salute. Ignis just shook his head and disappeared inside the tent. Prompto smiled after him before turning towards the area around the haven. Their small campfire was still there with wood stacked up next to it – like usual when they decided to have someone on watch at night. He was thankful for it. The actual weather wasn’t that cold yet, but there was a slight wind chill with a bite to it just strong enough to be bothersome if one were to be outside without heat for more than fifteen minutes or so. As it was, though, he was rather comfortable with the crackle of flames next to him and the sounds of nature around him.

 

He wasn’t sure how long he sat there in relative silence, but it had to be at least halfway through his shift when the peace was broken. He’d been doing relatively well, throwing a glance off over towards Ardyn’s tent every now and again, but otherwise, everything was somewhat normal. He could see the glow of Daemons off in the distance, prowling the lands, but they were all fairly far off and certainly not an issue, especially while they were at a haven.

 

And then, suddenly, there was a flash of light right over Prompto’s shoulder where he could only pick it up in his peripheral vision. He wasn’t sure how to react and tensed up, familiar with the magic and knowing that Noct sometimes liked to just warp out of the tent to help himself wake up. Had the Prince needed to use a tree or something? But…instead of the regular blue flash that signaled his friend’s entrance, this light had seemed more red…

 

“My, nothing seems to surprise you, does it?”

 

 _That was NOT Noct’s voice_.

 

Before he had actually made the conscious decision to do so, Prompto leapt from his chair and pivoted around, summoning his gun from the Armiger as he did so and bringing it up to aim straight at Ardyn’s face.

 

Ardyn, who was smirking at him and twirling a sword around his palms deftly. “Well, at least your reflexes are on point, even if much of your original combat data seems to have been lost. Or perhaps it’s just locked away.”

 

At that, Prompto felt a horrendous feeling of dread come over him and he couldn’t stop his eyes from widening. Ardyn knew. He _knew about Prompto. Ardyn._ Who had just _warped_.

 

The strange man twirled the blade in his hand and made a gesture with his head towards the tent. “You know, if I really wanted, I could have taken you all out at any time.”

 

Prompto didn’t doubt it. Not when the man could apparently pull off the same magic as the line of Caelum (which…how?). And now, Ardyn was standing between him and his friends. He needed to scream. Or shoot his gun and wake everyone up. That would be far more effective.

 

He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t care who the man was or how he did what he did. His friends were in danger.

 

His fingers clicked off the safety and depressed the trigger, pointed right at Ardyn’s forehead –

 

But as soon as the loud bang sounded and the wound appeared, a purple mass seemed to pour out from Ardyn and fill in the hole the bullet had made. There was no blood. No lasting damage as the injury (which should have been fatal) literally healed itself right before Prompto’s eyes and Ardyn’s smirk grew. “How rude,” the man said in his lilting tone.

 

Prompto’s breath caught in his throat as he pulled the trigger again. And again. And again. He wasn’t really expecting a different outcome. Nor did he get one. But…what else was he supposed to do?!

 

This time, he aimed at minutely different parts of Ardyn’s face and throat, but they all healed as the last shot had. “Perfect execution,” the man said as his left eye grew back from where it had been destroyed out of the purple sludge that seemed to replace the blood in his body. “‘Face the threat, aim, shoot without hesitation once in order to not attract more attention than necessary. If target is not confirmed dead after first strike, then eliminate by rapid fire.’” He sounded as though he was reading from a tome and Prompto felt ice crawl through his veins as he heard the echo of another, deeper voice saying the exact same words in the bowels of his mind. Drilled down into him so deeply he hadn’t been fully aware that they were still there until now.

 

Ardyn tipped his head to the side, staring at him, and Prompto kept his gun trained on him even though he knew it wouldn’t do any good. His friends in the tent had to have heard the gunshots. They would be along any moment. Iggy would know what to do. He always did. They’d come out here…

 

_And hear what Ardyn was saying. They’d find out._

 

“If you’re trying to buy time, that won’t work,” Ardyn said, now running his fingers over his sword blade. “I’ve pulled out a stitch in time, just for us. Everything else around us is…frozen, I suppose you could say. Though that is a rather rudimentary and simplistic way to explain it.” 

 

Prompto had no idea what any of that meant. But he was sure of one thing. And he could feel anger and worry coursing through him in spades as the man before him even mentioned his friends. “If you hurt any of them, I don’t care how long it takes me to figure out how to do it, I won’t just kill you. I’ll _eviscerate_ you.” He would normally be surprised over how vicious his voice came out, but as it was, he had other things to focus on.   

 

Ardyn’s eyes narrowed slightly and he tilted his head to the other side. “Oh, now where did that come from? Dear Prompto, you’re sending me such mixed signals.”

 

“I think they’re pretty clear,” the gunner replied, firing another round and watching the wound heal. No one came out from the tent. He still didn’t understand what was happening, but it seemed that Ardyn was serious when he said that he’d frozen time somehow. Which Prompto would try to wrap his mind around later. Right now, the most important thing was keeping his eye on the man in front of him and not getting distracted.

 

“I wasn’t referring to your feelings for your friends. I can tell how important they are to you. But rather the complication with what that means for you as an entity.”

 

“There is no complication. I am Prompto Argentum,” he practically spat back, trying to fight the rising fear in his chest. It wouldn’t help him now.

 

“You keep telling yourself that and you might actually start believing it. Maybe you already do. That might be it.” There was a flash of light and suddenly, Ardyn’s sword was gone. Just like how Noctis, the Crownsguard, and the Kingsglaive worked their weapons. So it was definitely Crystal magic like that tied to the Caelum family. “You know…you’re a good actor, Prompto. I must admit, when I first saw you in Galdin Quay, I was sure I was mistaken. I had to actually go back to one of the labs and check. But, once I saw your picture,” and he reached into his jacket to pull one out right then and there, “I knew it was you. Our Lost Prototype.”

 

He’d known it was coming. But that didn’t make it any easier to hear. And it certainly made it harder when Ardyn held up that damn picture. Prompto had excellent night vision. Probably because of the Daemon blood running through his veins. And he could clearly see the little naked blonde boy strapped down to the table with bruises all over his body. Not that he needed to. He could only imagine which picture that one was out of the dozens he could recall being taken. He very carefully turned his gaze away from it and focused it back on Ardyn. “‘Lost’ being the operative word there. And I don’t intend to go back.”

 

Ardyn’s smirk became more of a smile and he leaned forward onto the chair Prompto had left, but it somehow seemed even more threatening than the previous expression. “No, of course not. Which is why I’m sure your friends probably have no idea what an abomination you really are.” He dropped the picture on the seat of the chair and clenched his hands on the armrests, leaning over the back of it. “And I’m sure you don’t want that to change.”

 

Prompto’s fingers tightened on his gun and itched to shoot once more, even though he had enough evidence at this point to know that it wouldn’t make any difference. “I’m not telling you anything,” he said, though it sounded more like a growl. “I’d die before I betray Noct.”

 

That was the absolute truth, regardless of his own circumstances or fate. Even if it hadn’t been, he wasn’t sure he knew anything that would be of use to Ardyn. Adding to all of that, the fact that the other man had said ‘our missing prototype’ suggested that he was from the Empire, and Prompto wanted nothing to do with them. Not again. Never again.

 

“Nor would I ask you to,” Ardyn said, pulling his lips back and making his smile one of all teeth. “At least…not in the way you think.” He picked the picture back up and put it in his inner jacket pocket before placing his hands on the armrests once more, running them up and down the wood. “Come sit down, Prompto.”

 

“No.”

 

“You’re mistaken in thinking you have a choice, pet,” and even though his tone sounded almost friendly, there was no trace of kindness behind it. “Sit down, or I’ll unfreeze time and warp into that tent. I assure you, none of your friends’ weapons will be any more effective than yours was. Assuming they even wake up in time to make a final stand.”

 

Whatever warmth was left in Prompto’s body prior to those words, which given this conversation wasn’t a lot, froze over. As quickly as he could, he forced the barrel of his gun down and straightened out of his gunner’s stance. “Don’t!” Gladdy, Iggy...

 

_Noct._

 

Ardyn just smiled at him and tapped his fingers against the armrests. “Then by all means.”

 

Prompto hesitated for a moment, trying to figure out if there was anything else he could do. But there was nothing he could think of. Maybe if he was smarter, like Ignis. Or braver, like Gladio. Or stubborn in a way that always made things work, like Noctis. But as it was…all he could do was bargain for time until he could figure something else out. Slowly, he lowered his weapon more, but Ardyn just looked at it for a second before drawing his eyes back up to Prompto’s.

 

Somehow, even though there were no words exchanged, the gunner managed to get the message pretty clearly. He didn’t want to leave himself defenseless. Again, he knew it wasn’t an actual comfort. He’d already seen that his efforts would be in vain. But something about just having his gun in his hand would make him feel safer. Somewhat vaguely, he wondered if that said something bad about him, but he pushed it down. Ardyn literally had the safety of his friends in the palm of his hand. The last thing he needed was to piss off the man holding all of the cards in this game.

 

So, after another slight hesitation, he banished his gun and let it disappear in a shimmer of blue light. Ardyn smiled wider and again patted the armrests, still leaning over the chair. He was being rather patient, really.

 

Prompto swallowed, feeling as though he’d choked on something all the way down his throat even though there wasn’t anything actually there. But he could do this. Keep the crazy man with the disappearing sword, warping skills, apparent instant-healing abilities, and knowledge of his past as happy as possible. Right. He could do this. For his friends.

 

He found himself repeating their names in his head as he took the first step forward, clinging to their faces in his mind. Gladio. Iggy. Noct. Gladio. Iggy. Noct. Over and over.

 

But that didn’t make him feel any better, nor did it stop his stomach from dropping almost out of him entirely as he turned so that his back was to Ardyn and he slowly lowered himself into the chair. He could feel his instinct to fight clawing at the back of his mind and he had to clench his hands into his pants legs to stop them from trembling or recalling his gun. The sensation was only made worse as he saw the glow of Daemons off in the distance and realized that none of them were actually moving. Time really had stopped.

 

He felt a puff of air on the back of his neck that made his hair stand on end. Somehow, even though he knew that the actual experience was the same, it felt far more sinister than when Noct did it in his sleep. He tried to stay calm, but Prompto could feel all of his muscles immediately tense up against his wishes. A chuckle sounded behind him, far closer than he wanted, and he jumped as Ardyn’s hands moved from the armrests around him in a loose hold. Almost like…

 

If he managed to get out of this alive, Prompto promised himself that he would someday find a way to punch Ardyn in the face for possibly ruining hugging for him forever.

 

As it was though, there wasn’t much he could do as the older man behind him leaned forward and practically breathed into his ear. “Now then. Isn’t that much more comfortable?” No, actually. Prompto was more than fairly certain he would give anything he owned in life just to put another foot between them. Ardyn continued, obviously not expecting an answer. “You know…I wonder. If they knew what you are, how long would it take for your…friends…to decide to get rid of you?”

 

Prompto wanted to say that that was impossible. Wanted, desperately, to believe that nothing would change and the other three would stand up for him. A month and a half before, he’d have betted on it. Had put a speech together and everything. Once he had become a part of the Crownsguard (and had no intentions of quitting after the trip as Noct and everyone else probably expected him to), he had decided that it might be better to tell the other three, if only so he could explain why he was capable of seeing so well in the dark. He hated that part of himself more than words could explain. But…he couldn’t deny its usefulness, especially in a battle situation. If he were honest with himself, the circumstances of his…creation were probably the only reason why he was still alive on this trip.

 

But now that Nifleheim had outright decimated Insomnia and killed almost everyone there with it…

 

He wasn’t sure anymore. He knew that Noct was angry with the Empire. And Gladio talked continuously about destroying it. Ignis was the only one who seemed a bit more impartial, but even he made side comments on the subject that left Prompto feeling a bit more empty inside every time he heard them. After all, adopted or natural, they had all lost a home there at the very least, and the others had lost family.

 

He…he couldn’t tell them. Not anymore. He’d waited too long.

 

But there was a big difference between coming to that conclusion on his own (which he already had as soon as they’d heard the terrible news) and actually talking about this with Ardyn. Who had taken his silence in stride and moved his hands from simply being wrapped around him to grab gently at Prompto’s hands. The gunner felt the other man’s chest press into his back as he leaned even closer, fingers brushing over his and leaving a slight shake in their wake. “But…perhaps they don’t have to know.”

 

And something about the way he said that made Prompto’s heart stutter just slightly. He opened his mouth, but found himself unable to force any words out as Ardyn’s fingers started tracing up his hands to his wrists and continued up his arms. It was a very intimate gesture and made nausea rise in the gunner’s stomach. He didn’t want this man anywhere near him or touching him.

 

Certainly not his mouth bumping into the side of his throat as he was now doing, breathing over the skin there and lowering his voice to a whisper. “I haven’t told anyone about you yet. Aren’t you grateful to me?” His fingers were still moving upwards, tickling over the insides of Prompto’s elbows. They left a strange numbness in their tracks, but that was nothing compared to the bone-deep shiver that rattled through him as something wet traced over his ear. “You hid yourself well. You almost had me fooled. But your reaction to me tonight convinced me that my suspicions were right and your old programming is still intact. Especially how you leaned forward to hide where you were watching. All straight out of your training. One word from me and the entire Empire will be on the lookout for you, probably offering a reward for your return. Or…maybe I’ll just get the urge to tell them outright someday.”

 

His reaction tonight? “Wait,” he finally managed to say, his voice sounding as though he’d been traveling in a desert for a week. Almost like he was choking after all. “That day, when you took my gun…”

 

He felt Ardyn smile against his neck. The man’s fingers had made it all the way up to his shoulders, where they sat gently. They felt entirely far too heavy. “A test. One you passed with flying colors. The Prince’s Shield interrupted before I could be completely certain, so I had to try again tonight. But if those scientists and trainers from your…childhood had seen the way you forced that calm upon yourself, I doubt even they would have found a reason to…punish you. Well, maybe for giving me the gun in the first place…” he said. Prompto tensed further, unwanted memories coming back to him in the corners of his mind unbidden. He struggled desperately to keep them down. This would be the worst possible time to poke that particular behemoth.

 

“Now, now,” Ardyn said quietly, squeezing his shoulders a bit. “There’s no reason to be scared. As long as you do what I say, I’ll make sure you never have to go back. Also, you should know that the Kingsglaive and Crownsguard successfully destroyed all of the data about your creation when you escaped.” He squeezed again, almost like he was massaging the muscles there. “You’re the only Human MT we’ve managed to complete without it eventually falling apart. I’m sure, given how his current soldiers failed to kill your friend Noctis, the Emperor would be no less than ecstatic to have you back in his grasp. If only for research purposes.”

 

If possible, Prompto froze up even more. He didn’t want to think that his existence might put his friends in danger. But it was true. If he was discovered, and the technology used to create him remade…

 

The MTs that were already out and about were bad enough, but they were, at the end of the day, easily recognizable as suits of armor. Prompto _looked human_. He could never be one, but he could pass as one, as he had for so long. He was living proof of just how dangerous that could be. He had lived in Insomnia, after all, for over a decade and no one had ever discovered what he was or where he was from. If another like him with ill intentions were to sneak into somewhere for a mission, it would be catastrophic.

 

No. He couldn’t allow that to happen.

 

And…selfishly, he didn’t want it to happen. Not just for the sake of targets of these theoretical attacks, but…

 

He couldn’t imagine another going through what he had for the first several years of his life. Much less armies of them. He wouldn’t allow it. Just the thought of it made him sick.

 

Beyond all of that was an even more selfish thought. If no one knew…he could stay. He could stay with Noct and the others. They wouldn’t hate him. He could be part of their group. He could stay a part of the Crownsguard. He had known for a long time that the feelings he had for his Prince were wrong and would never come to fruition of any sort. He’d known and accepted it. But this way, he could still stay at Noct’s side.

 

He could protect him. From people like the man standing behind him.

 

“What do you want?” He asked, trying his best to ignore it as Ardyn’s thumbs pressed into the tops of his shoulders blades and pressed at the knots there. He had to try even harder not to flinch as he felt that same wet thing – tongue, it had to be Ardyn’s tongue – swipe at his ear again.

 

He regretted saying anything at all when the man’s hands stopped what they were doing and slid back up to his shoulders and past them, settling on his chest instead. There was more warmth than he expected in that touch, almost to the point of pain even through his shirt, and he wondered if the man was using some sort of magic he wasn’t familiar with. The hands pulled him back, to where he was actually leaning into Ardyn whereas he’d been sitting stock straight before.

 

“I thought that would be obvious at this point. Prompto, if you want your freedom and the safety of your friends, you’ll have to pay for it.” And Ardyn’s hands were suddenly dragging downwards over ribs and further until they settled on the gunner’s hips, fingers playing at his waist. Within seconds, he had Prompto’s pants unbuttoned and unzipped.

 

Prompto stopped breathing. Entirely. He knew he had a tendency to be dense and probably should have read the signs a bit better (like the guy licking him and touching his arms and…), but he still couldn’t stop the rush of disgust that ran through him as he realized _exactly_ what was being asked of him. Or rather, demanded.

 

Ardyn’s nose brushed against his neck and Prompto was pretty sure he felt a sudden chill as the man sniffed – actually _sniffed_ \- at him. “You really are a masterpiece. Tell me…has your precious prince had this type of fun with you yet?”

 

Prompto wanted to move. He really, really wanted to. But fear kept him in a vice grip as Ardyn’s hands dipped under his waist band, rubbing at his pelvis gently.

 

“That was a question, Dearest Prompto. I do expect an answer. Don’t make me ask again.” A very slight and subtle edge entered Ardyn’s voice, but it was most definitely there. Even if his touch remained soft, he meant his words.

 

And his hands were traveling south.

 

Prompto couldn’t stop himself from clamping his knees together at the last second. “No,” he said quickly, trying to stall anything else from happening while knowing full well that he had no control over the current situation. “No, he hasn’t. And he won’t.”

 

“And what makes you think that?” Ardyn practically laughed into his ear. His hands dug slightly further down, forcing the front of Prompto’s pants further open until his fingertips had made their way between leather and the cotton of the gunner’s boxers to rest on the very tops his thighs. “You are in service to your Prince, are you not? If he were to command you to do so, do you honestly believe you would have the right to refuse?”

 

And…well, yes, that was technically true. But Noct would never use his powers that way, Prompto was sure. The Prince had never lorded his position over anyone and had never wanted to. He would never force anyone to do something like that.

 

And besides, Noct loved Lady Lunafreya. He always had and he always would. Of that, Prompto was certain.

 

Apparently, Ardyn wasn’t. And Prompto might have mumbled something out loud without noticing because the man’s next words were “Ah, yes. His wonderful bride-to-be, waiting somewhere for him along his quest. Somehow, I don’t think she would be much of a deterrent in these regards.”

 

Prompto’s brain was scrambling to try and figure out exactly what that meant, but he didn’t get very far before his thoughts were cut short by one of Ardyn’s hands slipping between his thighs. The gunner’s breath caught. He’d never done anything like this before with someone and wasn’t really sure how to react. He didn’t even know if the heat emanating from the other man was still unnatural or if that was just his imagination.

 

Either way, he sucked in a breath as he found himself cupped. His body give an involuntary twitch at the sensation, but against all of his instincts screaming at him internally, he somehow managed to keep himself from grabbing at the hand now forcing itself upon him. He opened his mouth to say something, but choked instead as Ardyn suddenly squeezed him. Not enough to hurt, per say, but certainly enough to remind him who was in charge here (not that he needed it).

 

The man’s other hand pulled out of his pants and started massaging gently along his thigh through the fabric just hard enough to be felt, sending a small pulse of pleasure through the gunner. Prompto wanted very much to push backwards away from the touch, but there was nowhere to go. He was already flush against Ardyn and the back of his chair seat. Instead, he reached out and gripped the front of the seat he sat on in the corners, trying his best to ground himself.

 

Ardyn chuckled at him deeply enough that Prompto felt it all along his back from the older man’s chest. Had the other fallen to his knees at some point so that he was around the same height as Prompto in the chair? “Now, now, why don’t you just sit back and relax? You could even enjoy this if you try.”

 

He knew that. He’d jacked off enough times to understand that a physical reaction didn’t always have anything to do with any feelings that may be involved. While it may be harder than usual to get his body in the mood, the end circumstances would the same. No matter how much he hated it or hated himself for it. He’d even been given a somewhat-rushed explanation over torture techniques and the like that all Crownsguards were taught before the trip.

 

The knowledge didn’t make the experience any easier, though.

 

Ardyn’t hadn’t reached inside his boxers, but as inexperienced as he was, their cotton rubbing against his manhood was more than enough to make him feel overheated very quickly. His grip on the frame of the chair and the edge of the fabric seat tightened enough that his knuckles were white as Ardyn pumped him a bit, grip firm but not painful. His other hand still kneading along the inside of Prompto’s thigh wasn’t helping matters.

 

“Why?” the gunner knew it was probably a bad idea, but he felt he had to say something, even if his voice came out unfairly strained. If only to understand. “Why me? And what do you get out of this?”

 

“Why not you?” Ardyn responded gruffly. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you and the Prince are very close. I suppose I could go after him instead…but I think this will be more fun. You pretty much belong to him, don’t you? You’d give all of yourself for your Dear Noctis.”

 

Prompto clenched his jaw as Ardyn’s hand suddenly dove deeper and squeezed more firmly. It was beyond tight in his pants now, what with the other man’s ministrations and his own half-hard penis. “Of course I would,” he grit out, far too breathily for his own comfort. “He’s my best friend.”

 

“A bit more than that, I would think. I’ve seen how you look at him when he’s not paying attention. It’s a miracle the Shield and Advisor haven’t figured it out. Then again, maybe they have.”

 

Prompto had to decide specifically to not think about anything being said at that point. It was worrying that Ardyn knew how he felt, but it ultimately didn’t change his current circumstances. And, quite frankly, he was beginning to find it hard to focus beyond the hand now gripping him meaningfully and started to jerk. It was harder than Prompto himself usually did, but it made an undeniable warmth rise in his stomach faster than he would have expected, which was downright embarrassing.

 

The gunner wasn’t sure it was humanly possible to grab the chair seat any harder than he currently was (though, he wasn’t human, was he?) and he bit down into his lower lip, trying to stifle any sound that wanted to come out. Ardyn’s other hand suddenly abandoned his thigh and moved to his chest to trace in a circle around his left nipple. The sensation was sudden enough that Prompto was only just able to stop the whimper that crawled up his throat at it, exhaling heavily through his nose instead. He wasn’t sure it mattered, as his captor would have heard it either way.

 

His head wanted to grow foggy and he was tempted to let it, if only to drift away from what was happening. But he pulled himself back and held steady (or as steady as he could) in the moment. The others were still defenseless in the tent behind him. And Ardyn had just threatened to do… _this_ …to Noct.

 

Prompto wasn’t going to allow that to happen. He couldn’t.

 

“You know…you’re making this a lot more difficult that it needs to be,” Ardyn’s words only brought more anxiety to him. If the older man got bored or annoyed, there was no telling what could happen.

 

So, pulse pounding throughout his head and even though it pretty much killed him inside to do it, Prompto slowly forced his knees away from each other and parted his legs, giving easier access to himself.

 

He felt what seemed to be a small kiss press into the side of his neck, but wasn’t quite sure due to the fact that he’d never actually received one before. The thought of it made him dizzy with disgust, but he held it in.

 

“There we are. Good boy,” Ardyn whispered to him with an almost breathy tone that would probably be erotic in other circumstances. His hand loosened a bit around the Prompto’s bulge and started to rub all along it more gently than before. Prompto couldn’t stop his sharp intake of breath at the change, his stomach jumping slightly and pleasure assaulting his senses. Shame followed quickly in its wake, spurred on by a pinch to the nipple that Ardyn had just been circling moments before with the thumb of his other hand.

 

He jumped a bit at the feeling, which made Ardyn reach down further along his manhood once more. Thanks to their positions and the chair, the older man wasn’t quite able to reach the gunner’s testicles enough to rub at them, but just brushing against them was almost enough to make Prompto cum then and there. Shamefully, he was fully hard at that point.

 

“Oh my, I think I’m far more lucky than I dared hope for,” Ardyn said, pinching and squeezing just a bit harder. It was almost painful and more than overwhelming. Prompto could feel that telltale heat inside his belly grow, about to over flow. His face grew hot at the thought of doing so under these circumstances. He wanted to pull away, but he stopped himself.

 

Noct. This was for Noct. All of it. Everything. If this is what it took to be able to stay at his best friend’s side and keep him safe, he’d do it.

 

Easier thought than done.

 

“You’re quite new to this game, aren’t you? Either that or your body is more responsive than I expected,” Ardyn continued his words and movements, breathing out onto Prompto’s ear and neck. He must be on his knees after all because the gunner suddenly felt the older man’s erection pressed against his bottom. It was hardly noticeable through the cloth chair and two pairs of pants, but with his blood rushing so quickly and the sick feeling increasing throughout his body, he couldn’t miss it.

 

Prompto’s focus was drawn straight to it and panic pooled underneath the heat in his body. Just how far was Ardyn wanting to go? He had to assume all of the way, right? And yet, the older man showed no signs of slowing down the hand job he was giving to save Prompto’s release for the final act. He hadn’t even pulled Prompto out of his boxers (which was incredibly uncomfortable). That was all beyond worrying for sure and the gunner swallowed against the unease and anticipation rising as one up his throat.

 

He was reaching his peak, his feet scooting fractions of an inch away from each other against his conscious thoughts to try and spread his legs further. His head wanted to fall back onto the man behind him as he let himself go. All of his muscles started tensing up outside of his control and his vision blurred a bit at the edges just as he was about to cum…

 

And Ardyn stopped.

 

Prompto whined before he could stop himself, but cut it off as soon as he could, resulting in a rather loud squawking sound. There was laughing at his ear as suddenly Ardyn’s hands pulled themselves away, the chill of the night around them immediately seeping into where they’d been just before. Prompto tried to control himself. His breathing. His body. Anything, but he couldn’t. He was _so close_ and a big part of him just wanted to be pushed over.

 

But Ardyn had suddenly stood and moved around in front of him, smirking. “Well, well. I think that was a rather productive session, don’t you?”

 

Prompto tried to glare up at him, but his mind was so fogged over, still screaming with the want of release that he couldn’t quite manage it. He wanted to yell, really. At Ardyn or his own bodily reactions, he wasn’t sure.

 

The man just laughed at his expression and bent over, reaching out. Within moments, he grabbed Prompto’s cock, still tucked away in his boxers and tenting them almost as far as they could go, and fastening his pants around it in the most uncomfortable way possible. Without really thinking, the gunner reached down to grab the older man’s hands as they worked, trying to call his fragmented thoughts back together. He was fervently telling his erection to go away to no avail and hissed as it was suddenly locked behind constricting leather, almost folded on itself. Ardyn hadn’t been gentle at all.

 

Somehow, the hands he’d reached for managed to grab his first and were now pinning them down to the armrests of the chair. With hardly a breath, Ardyn was between his legs, bending down so that he was right in Prompto’s face, imposing and terrifying above him, despite the smile he wore. “Now, now, patience, my pet. We’ll do more next time, I promise. Until then, you behave yourself.” His smile dropped to be replaced with a rather blank look. “Or I’ll tell your friends and the emperor what you are. Your choice.”

 

One of his hands let go, there was a quick and almost lazy movement of his arm, and with a flash of red, Ardyn disappeared.

 

Prompto was left alone in the chilly night. For several moments, all he was really aware of was his harsh breaths as he tried to get his body back under some semblance of control. It took forever. The fire next to him crackled away and he jolted when he realized that he hadn’t actually heard the sounds of the flames dancing ever since Ardyn had appeared – how had he missed that? The Daemons he could see off in the distance were moving again too, no longer frozen, so time had apparently been restored. He kept reminding himself of the things Ardyn had said, fully intending to will his erection away without having to use more physical means.

 

He wasn’t an idiot. He had heard the warning. He knew this wasn’t the last time. And the next one, he wasn’t sure what would happen. How far they would go. What would be expected of him.

 

But he did know that he would be just as powerless to stop it.

 

Eventually, it dawned on him that he was hovering at the edge of a panic attack again and he bit down on his ragged (when had they become so?) breaths to try and regain control of the situation. Thankfully, the tension that had been coiling in his stomach finally started to drift off and, while he was still hard, he no longer had to worry about whether he was going to cum or not – the thought of doing so based on what had just happened made him want to rip all of his hair out and scream.

 

But he couldn’t. He was back in normal time. Whatever that meant. The ‘stitch’ he’d been told about was no longer a concern. If he made too much noise, he’d probably wake someone in the tent and that was literally the last thing he needed or wanted right then.

 

After what felt like forever, he managed to pull his tattered nerves back to himself and gulp down all of his fears. All while very carefully avoiding the want of looking over to Ardyn’s tent. He could feel the eyes of the older man set on him. Watching. Waiting. But he was fairly certain that he was just being paranoid. And why shouldn’t he be?

 

After all he’d just discovered?

 

He needed to pull his thoughts together. Needed to go through them. That’s what Ignis would do. He could ignore what was left of the erection in his pants as he readjusted his body in the seat. And if his senses seemed a bit strong and he was hyperaware of everything around him in a way that normally alluded him, well, that’s what Gladiolus was like as a Shield. And Noct…well, actually, Noctis would probably be half asleep and trying not to drool as he fought to keep his eyes open. But Prompto could interpret that as not letting outside influences affect his duty.

 

Influences like Ardyn and his…his hands. And his knowledge that could literally destroy everything Prompto cared about. And his…his warping and magic and…

 

Prompto slammed his hand down into his thigh as his breaths sped up once more, trying and succeeding in shocking himself out of his fear. He’d hit so hard that the bones in his palm throbbed a bit and he focused on that, allowing it to bring some semblance of sense to his otherwise upheaved world.

 

He…had to be careful here. He needed to warn the others about Ardyn. But…how much? How much could he risk before Ardyn decided to warp him back to Nifleheim for experimentation? If that happened…it could and would be disastrous. He couldn’t allow the Empire to regain the information to make more people like him. Not now that he knew they’d lost it in the first place (and that was…actually kind of a relief. He hadn’t known about that until that night. At least now he knew that his project had had nothing to do with the fall of Insomnia, as morbid and terrible as that thought seemed).

 

And he needed to do all of this without the other three freaking out over him having another scary encounter with the older man, especially after how they’d responded to the post-dinner-face-grab earlier that day (the thought of which almost sent him reeling back into a panic again). He couldn’t have them discover anything was amiss. He…he couldn’t. If he left the group, there’d be no reason for Ardyn not to kidnap him, so he had to stay with them. In order to do so, he needed to avoid looking even more useless than he had already, and telling any of them too much about tonight would be a huge mistake.

 

Quickly, he glanced at his phone, which had slipped out of his pocket to the ground during all of the previous…activities. He needed to get himself together and figure out what to do. According to the display on the screen, he had about fifteen minutes to do so before Noctis came out for his shift.

 

So, as calmly as he could, he pulled together the tattered remains of his self and wrapped them around his being like a cloak of safety. During it all, his heart raced on, just slightly faster than a regular pulse. He could feel eyes on the back of his head the whole time coming from Ardyn’s tent.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Exhales in relief*. Alright. That was, by far, the hardest chapter yet. For various reasons. I had to stop several times and start again because this subject matter is uncomfortable, but extraordinarily important. That said. I hope you all got through it okay and everything was clear. Again, I don't have an editor for this story so it's just me. If anything was confusing, please let me know and I'll try to help/fix it! I'm really not sure how this one came out!
> 
> As for Prompto...well, things are going to get hard from here on out. Everyone get ready. I might add more notes later if there are any questions, but I'll leave it here for now. 
> 
> Chapter five should come soon and I'm going to try and reply to reviews faster. Thanks to everyone who's still reading! Specials thanks to anyone who leaves kudos or bookmarks this story. And...super duper SPECIAL thank you to anyone that leaves a review! Thank you! 
> 
> Next time: Our bros lose the Regalia and go to try and reclaim it...only to face some serious repercussions. Prompto tells them more than he probably should and we as the readers depart a bit from the game.

**Author's Note:**

> And that's it for chapter one! Thanks to everyone who got through it. SPOILERS FOR THE GAME! For those of you wondering, the reason I made Prompto wary of Ardyn instead of happy-go-lucky...well, the second time my brother played this game, we were both watching Ardyn CLOSELY, just to see if there were any hints mixed in that we missed the first time as to his place in the story (we both figured out he was of the Caelum line by the Trial of Leviathan the first time through - specifically when Lunafreya says '[she'll] give the ring to the rightful king' while looking him straight in the eye) - but we obviously didn't get everything right. And since we both love writing scripts, we always love going through things tiny bit by tiny bit). In doing so, we both thought that when you first meet him in Galdin Quay...Prompto literally goes out of his way to move to the side and put Gladio between him and Ardyn. It's real subtle (and may not have even been on purpose in the game design), but it seemed so atypical to Prompto's normal character that it kind of set us both on edge. And he keeps Gladio between them for pretty much the whole conversation while being weirdly quiet. Anyway, I could be making a mountain out of a mole hill, but seeing as how Ardyn is one of the only people Prompto doesn't seem to be outright friendly to (unless I missed it in a scene somewhere - in which case, please let me know!), I thought it would be interesting to include. Just like the campfire scene where Ardyn makes that weird grab towards his face and no one seems to notice. 
> 
> Anyway! The next chapter is written, but I'm currently proof reading it and trying to make sure everyone is in character. Also, my editor for my stories is usually my mom, but...I really am not comfortable having her read this one, so it's only edited by me. If anyone sees any errors, please let me know! 
> 
> Thank you again and I hope to see you next time!


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